The Lost Monkey
by GuardianDragon98
Summary: Antauri gets depressed one day, worrying Chiro, and it seems the rest of the monkeys were expecting it. When Chiro and Jinmay find a magenta robot monkey in stasis hidden inside the Super Robot, Sparx, Nova, Gibson, and Otto decide to tell them the story of their lost sister, Yinya, while Antauri struggles to let go of the past. Multiple POVs. Eventual Antauri x OC.
1. Prologue: Yinya

**GuardianDragon98 here, with a little something different!**

**When I was a kid, I was a fan of Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! (SRMTHFG). If you don't know what that is, look it up on YouTube. It was an old Disney cartoon that was almost like an anime. It was a good series with colorful designs, funny gags, and memorable characters; and, like many other fans, I'm disappointed that there was never a Season 5 after the fourth season's cliffhanger ending.**

**I mean, seriously, Disney, give us a conclusion to this epic series!**

**This story takes place after the war with Skeleton King (which was never shown because the fourth season ended with the team getting ready for said war). Let's pretend that Skeleton King's gone and Shuggazoom City and the universe are finally at peace, and the team only has to deal with remnants of the Skeleton King's army.**

**This story, by the way, will have multiple POVs because I really want to explore the different mindsets of the Hyperforce's team members, but all of their POVs will be connected to one thing… which I will now reveal in this prologue.**

**NOTE: I OWN NOTHING HERE! EXCEPT FOR MY OC!**

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**The Lost Monkey**

**Prologue**

_How long have I been trapped in here? I can no longer remember. Everything's the same._

_Cold metal walls surrounding the tube that holds my body, the shell of the monkey I once was. And darkness – nothing but cold darkness._

_Time has no meaning. I do the same thing every day: drift around in a daze, try and put myself back inside my slumbering form, fail, curse my fate, repeat. It's been going on for as long as I can remember being trapped in here._

_Wait… What was that sound?_

_One of the walls surrounding this place, it's opening up!_

_Light! Beautiful, beautiful, light! At last, no more darkness!_

_Voices… I hear voices! Stars, it's been so long since I've heard another living creature's voice. The sound's like music to my ears._

_The light hurts my eyes. I close them just as I hear the voices again._

"Another robot monkey?"

_Opening my eyes, I see them – a boy and a girl. They stare at the tube, at my slumbering form, at a loss for words._

_I let out a cry of joy. _"Hello?! Can you hear me?!" _I shout, floating over to them. Please, let them see me. I've been so alone…_

_But, to my chagrin, they don't respond. Figures, a spirit can't be seen unless they're sensitive enough to feel its energy. But, as frustrating it is, I might as well savor this moment. After who knows how long, someone other than me is occupying this space and I can hear voices other than my own._

_I get a closer look at the two. They're teenagers, or they're just about to be. They still look young enough to be mistaken as children. The girl has pink hair and emerald green eyes. She stays close to the boy, who has dark hair and eyes like sapphires, and…_

_My soul sings upon feeling the Power Primate flowing through the boy's veins. Incredible! A human harnessing the Power Primate! When did that happen? Had Father... No, I don't remember Father meeting any women. But, still, this boy has been blessed with the Power Primate! It's a miracle!_

"You have it, too…" _I murmur, wonderstruck, reaching out to touch the boy's hand. My face falls when my hand goes through him, like a ghost's._

_Maybe that's what I've become…_

"Chiro, look." _The girl brushes away the dust sticking to the bottom of my tube, revealing a plaque._

**YNYA11**

"**Yinya"**

_Yinya… yes, that's my name. To hear somebody else say it, like the girl did just now, has helped me remember._

_Stars above, it's been so long… I almost forgot my own name…_

"Chiro." _I look at the boy, committing his name to memory, and I see confusion written on his face, clear as day. _"Chiro, did the team ever say anything about a _seventh _monkey?" _the girl asks the boy who shakes his head._

"No… they didn't," _Chiro steps forward to take a closer look at my body while I, a ghost, hover over his shoulder. In the light, I get a better look at myself. Nothing has changed, except for the thick layer of dust covering my tube. I'm still in there, eyes closed in slumber, floating around in the magenta fluid that keeps me alive._

_No, not slumber. Meditation._

_The memory of my mistake sends another spike of pain into my heart and another load of self-hatred comes crashing down on me._

_Stars, if I hadn't been so stupid that day…_

"Maybe Antauri and the others know something they haven't been telling me."

_Antauri…_

_Antauri!_

_Forgetting that I'm nothing more than a ghost, I fly up to Chiro, my eyes wide. _"You know 'Tauri? Is he okay? Is he here?" _Tears, ghostly tears, well up in my eyes as I stare pleadingly at Chiro who, like the girl, doesn't see me. But I don't care now. The moment I heard that name, Antauri, memories come flooding back._

_Happy memories. Good memories. Memories that have kept me company throughout my imprisonment. Memories of Antauri… Dear 'Tauri… _

_Except, now, I don't want memories. I want to be able to get out of here so I can see Antauri… and Nova, and Sparx, and Otto, and Gibson, and Father, and Mr. Clayton. Heck, I'd even be glad to see Mandarin again even though he was the crankiest monkey I had ever met._

_I just want to see my family again. That's all I want…_

"Maybe we can ask them?" _the girl suggests, gently wiping away the dust covering my tube._

"That's a good idea, Jinmay. Come on, let's go." _Chiro smiles and turns to leave._

"No! Wait!" _I try to grab Jinmay's attention first, pulling at her skirt only for my hands to go through like they did with Chiro._

"Please, don't leave me here! Help me get back into my body! Please help me!" _I scream but my voice might as well be nothing but a puff of air, as the two people who have finally discovered my prison walk away._

_No! Please! Don't go! Don't leave me alone! I don't want to be alone anymore!_

_I dare myself to go as far as the opening before I feel myself slipping away. I sob, knowing that my spirit can only go a few steps away from my physical body before I feel like I'm being dragged under. Desperate, I try to grab Chiro's hand as he helps Jinmay out first and call on the Power Primate._

"Please, Chiro! Human who possesses the Power Primate! Please… _help me!_" _I shout as loud as I can before I retreat back to the corners of the room, my ghostly form flickering. I see Chiro pause mid-step and turn around, his eyes wide as he looks around._

_Did he hear me?_

"Chiro, come on!"

_He shrugs then goes to put the wall panel back in place. I screech, terrified, and sprint towards the opening but it's hopeless. Chiro places the panel back in place, sealing up my prison once more, and I barely manage to get my arm through the metal before I feel like I'm being dragged into the underworld again and have to retreat._

"Damnit!" _I scream before despair swallows me and I curl up in front of my tube, crying like a baby. So close… so close to having someone who could help me, and I'm alone again…_

_Through my tears, I fix my eyes on the plaque bearing my model number and my name… and I remember who I am… who I was._

_I was YNYA11._

_I was the Alchemist's final completed creation._

_I was supposed to be the seventh member of the Hyperforce._

_I am Yinya._

_I… am the lost monkey._

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**Oof, not gonna lie, I felt a little emotional writing this.**

**So, now you know who this story's going to be centered around. Updates will be random, but if any of you are already curious about Yinya and want to know more about her, PM me.**

**Until the next chapter!**

**-GuardianDragon98**


	2. 1: Chiro and Antauri

**First chapter here. A little note for this story, though. There's going to be a couple of time shifts here and there, alternating between the past and the present, along with changes in the POVs. As of now, this chapter is going to include Chiro and Antauri's; but in future chapters, I'm hoping to evenly distribute narration among all members of the Hyperforce (Jinmay included).**

**Anyway, on with the story!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SRMTHFG! ALL RIGHTS GO TO DISNEY AND ITS CREATOR, CIRO NIELI!**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

**Chiro**

Ever since the war with Skeleton King ended, Shuggazoom City's been peaceful. Apart from remnants of his Formless army still lurking about, my team and I are finally able to relax. Sure, we still have to train and patrol the city ("Shuggazoom will always need heroes." As Antauri would say) but I'm just glad that my team and I can hang out and just have fun.

It's another morning, and Otto's cooking breakfast this time. The smell of bacon and pancakes hits my nose as soon as I walk into the dining room. "Morning, Chiro," Jinmay greets me as she sets down a pitcher of orange juice on the table. She and Nova are roommates now and the Super Robot has become her home.

I give her a kiss on the cheek before helping her set the table. I glance at the clock. Only 7:30AM and the team's already so full of energy even without having eaten.

Otto's flipping pancakes while Sparx tries to sneak a few bites of bacon from the platter holding all of our food. Otto lets him, even grabs a strip to chew on while flipping the last of the pancakes onto the plate.

Gibson's sipping on his coffee while reading something on his tablet, probably a new issue of _Shuggazoom's Science Discovery Journal_. He's got a lifetime subscription and even submits a few papers himself.

Nova's chatting with Jinmay, something about a new restaurant opening up downtown next week. Being the only two girls in the team, they instantly gravitated towards each other, scheduling weekly girls' night outs while we guys stay home and chill. If it's food, the guys and I are sometimes allowed to come. Shopping for clothes and makeup, that's Nova and Jinmay's me time and the guys and I know better than to intrude on their shopping trips.

Sparx did protest to that rule once, and going against it led him to becoming the girls' model/package carrier. I think Gibson still has the photos Nova and Jinmay took of him, wearing makeup and visibly struggling to carry all of the shopping bags. He's probably going to pull those out for blackmail the next time Sparx interrupts him during one of his experiments.

It's only when the table's been set and a platter of hot pancakes drenched in maple syrup and topped with squares of melting butter, and strips of crispy bacon has been placed in the center that I notice that we're one monkey short.

"Antauri's not here," I say, looking around for my mentor. Really, he's more of a father to me, Antauri. And he's usually up early in the morning to help with breakfast.

"He probably decided to get some early morning meditating done in his room," Sparx guessed, reaching for one of the pancakes with his fork before Nova lightly slaps his hand away. It's an unspoken rule that none of us ate until we were all seated at the table. It sounds strict but, for us, it helps strengthen our bond as a team. We train together, we fight together, we eat together. That's how it's been for us ever since we became the Hyperforce.

Excusing myself, I head up to Antauri's tube and I'm whisked away. The automatic doors to Antauri's room are closed and I walk towards them, half-expecting Antauri to open them since he's already sensed my presence. But he doesn't. The doors open and I step inside.

Antauri, to my surprise, is still in his sleep pod. A light purple blanket covers most of his silver body, leaving only the top of his helmet peeking out underneath.

I never pegged Antauri as one to sleep in. Usually, he spends early mornings meditating.

"Antauri?" I tap on the glass covering the sleep pod, and Antauri slowly pulls the blanket off his face.

"Hello, Chiro…" Alarm bells start ringing in the back of my head at the sound of Antauri's voice. He sounded… tired. And not in the usual _'just woke up and I kinda wanna go back to sleep'_ kind of tired. More like… defeated tired, _sad_ tired. He's been awake for a while now, I can tell by his eyes, but he hasn't gotten out of bed yet?

'_Is he having problems with his silver body again?' _I think worriedly.

After being resurrected, Antauri had isolated himself from us for a week to adjust to his new silver monkey body. But it hadn't done any good. It took a day out at the new theme park in Shuggazoom to get him to open up and not feel so alone. I smile a little at the memory. That had been a fun day…

Antauri's voice brings me out of my thoughts. "Is there something I can help you with?" I blink and focus on Antauri again, who makes no move to get out of his sleep pod.

His sky blue eyes look dull, faded, confusing and worrying me all at the same time. I trip over my words, too occupied by the change in Antauri's demeanor. "I just… wanted to… let you know that breakfast is ready. We're, um, waiting for you," I mumble.

Antauri gives me a smile, but it's a sad one. "My apologies, Chiro. You and the others may eat without me. I… don't feel like getting up just yet," he says.

I feel my eyes widen slightly. Something is _definitely _going on.

"Antauri… Are you okay?"

Antauri's facial expression goes blank for a moment then his metal brows crease a little, and he looks guilty – guilty for making me worry - for just a fraction of a second before his gaze softens. "I'm fine, Chiro. Don't worry about me," he reassures me with a soft smile.

I nod just as he sinks under the safety of his blanket again, probably to go back to sleep. But as I leave, I know Antauri's still awake. I look over my shoulder to look at the small lump in the sleep pod for a brief moment, before sighing and leaving the room.

The monkeys and Jinmay look at me expectantly when I come back to the dining room. "Antauri's not coming down… We can eat without him," I tell them.

"Alright!" Sparx spears a pancake and places it onto his plate, grabbing a few strips of bacon, then starts chowing down.

"Is he okay?" Nova asks, raising an eyebrow, pouring herself a glass of orange juice.

I shrug. "He hadn't gotten out of bed. I guess he wants to sleep in," I reply.

"That's odd for Antauri." Gibson looks up from his tablet, a perplexed look on his face. "He's not one to laze about," he says.

"Well," Otto's mouth is full, crumbs spraying out as he talks. "there's not mushch… gofwing on. Maybe he juswtch needsch… a break," he tells Gibson who grimaces at his table manners.

I want to agree with Otto, but remembering how sad Antauri looked… it just makes me worry even more. Jinmay catches my eye, and her cheerful smile's replaced with a frown. "Chiro, is there a problem?" she asks me.

I sigh, knowing that this worried feeling's just going to keep bugging me until I tell somebody and that I couldn't lie to my girlfriend or the team, so I just say it. "Antauri, he… he looked so sad earlier. And I don't think he's sleeping in. He's just… laying there in his room all mopey and… _depressed._"

Silence around the table.

Looking up from my plate of bacon and pancakes, I see Jinmay, Nova, Sparx, Gibson, and Otto all staring at me – their expressions just screaming _"Huh?"_

"Antauri's depressed?" Jinmay's voice sounds unsure, as if the idea of our silver comrade depressed is an impossible thing.

"Why would Antauri be depressed? It's a beautiful day, the sun is shining…" Otto piped up, swallowing his mouthful of food.

"And Skeleton King's gone – for good." Sparx holds his forkful of pancakes aloft like a baton. "We beat him. The universe is safe. I don't see anything depressing about that," he points out.

"Unless…" Nova's face turns pale. "Gibson, what's the date on your tablet?" she asks our Chief Science Officer, her pink eyes wide.

Gibson looks at his tablet, and also goes pale. His voice is barely above a whisper as he announces today's date.

"_September 21__st__…_"

The atmosphere in the dining room changes dramatically. Jinmay and I can only look at each other in bewilderment. The monkeys look down at their plates, their expressions turning from stunned to sad… just like Antauri.

"Oh man, it's _today_…" Otto murmurs, his tail drooping, and pushes his plate away. Otto, the monkey who I swear has a second stomach, not hungry? Absurd!

Sparx glances at the doorway, a faraway look in his eyes. "Guess we're not seeing Antauri today…" he sighs, shutting his eyes. "You'd think that after all these years…"

That piques my and Jinmay's interest. Was there something special about September 21st?

"Sparx, you know how Antauri is on this date. The best we can do for him today is to leave him be, let him have his space," Nova reminds him. Then, all of a sudden, she blinks her eyes rapidly and I hear a sharp intake of breath.

Nova… one of the toughest souls I know… is trying not to cry…

_Why?_

Gibson puts down his tablet and folds his arms across his chest. "Giving Antauri his space may be a helpful tactic. Sometimes those who suffer from depression can benefit from having alone time." He lowers his head and sighs. "However, I fear that it will only make things worse in the long run," he says.

"Yeah, but it's not like there's anything _we _can do. We tried reaching out to him before, and it didn't work," Otto pointed out, shoulders slumped.

My curiosity gets the better of me, making me blurt out, "Wait a sec, _this has happened before_?!" startling the team.

Now I'm really worried. If this is a regular thing, then why isn't the team doing anything? I'm no mental health expert but I know that leaving a person with depression on his own can be a bad thing, especially if said person's suicidal.

Granted, I know that Antauri would never consider self-harm but still…

And what is it about September 21st that's got the team, especially Antauri, so down all of a sudden?

Nova looks up at me, biting her lip. She opens her mouth to say something, hopefully give me and Jinmay an explanation, but closes it. Then she opens her mouth again, saying, "Don't worry, Chiro. This only happens once a year. Antauri will be fine."

"But what is it, Nova?" Jinmay speaks up, clasping her hands together. "You're saying that he only gets depressed on September 21st. Why is that?" she asks, her green eyes peering into each of my teammates' faces.

I look at them, silently pleading them to tell me what's going on. I want to help them, I want to help Antauri, but I can only do so if they tell me.

What are my friends hiding from me?

"Look, you two," Sparx sighs, looking at me and Jinmay. "there are some things we're not yet ready to tell you. But you don't have to worry about Antauri. By tomorrow, he'll be back to his old self," he tells us, his tone serious for once.

'_What kind of things?' _I ask myself, suddenly reminded of the time I learned of Mandarin.

Gibson nods in agreement. It's one of the rare moments I actually see him agree with Sparx.

Nova looks at me and tries to give me a smile. "Antauri will be fine, Chiro. But, for now, I suggest that you and Jinmay stay away from his room for a while. That's what the boys and I do whenever this happens. It helps," she tells me.

"Sort of…" Otto mumbles, not meeting my questioning gaze.

Breakfast is over a half hour later, and Jinmay and I announce that we're going to the movies. I make sure to remember Otto and Sparx's orders for Hoverburgers before heading out. But, as soon as we're outside the Super Robot, Jinmay and I look at each other.

"They're hiding something, aren't they?" Jinmay whispers as we walk to the cinema.

I nod. This is just like the time with Nova and the Ice Witch. Something's going on, and I just know that it's related to the Monkey Team's past.

What it was… I hope to find out, soon.

* * *

**Antauri**

As soon as Chiro leaves my room, I let out a breath I didn't realize I'd been holding in and wrap my blanket more tightly around myself. He saw through the cracks. He knows that I'm far from fine. He doesn't know _why, _but he's perceptive enough to know that something is wrong with me.

I smile a little, proud of how far Chiro has come. Three years ago, he had lacked confidence, had been so unsure of his skills as both our leader and the Chosen One. He has grown into a fine young man, kind and loyal, mature _(well, mature as any 16-year-old, I suppose_) and so adept with the Power Primate.

Chiro has exceeded all of my expectations and more, and I couldn't be prouder. To me, he is more than my team leader and my student. He is like a son to me, a son whom I swear to protect with my life.

I imagine Yinya teasing me and my paternal instincts. _"Aw, look at you, 'Tauri! You're like a proud father watching his son grow up!" _she would say, her cyan eyes sparkling playfully. What would Chiro have thought of her, I wonder. I don't doubt that Yinya's ebullience would have matched up well with Chiro's energy.

'_She would have loved Chiro…' _I think as I feel under the cushion of my sleep pod until I feel the familiar coolness of the crystal.

Carefully, I pull the pendant out from under the cushion and stare at the quartzite that I had carved into one half of the yin and yang symbol, specifically the yang with a single chip of black quartz embedded into the center.

I sigh, pressing the pendant to my forehead and shutting my eyes, taking comfort in the quartzite's coolness.

But then the memories come rushing in like a tidal wave, leaving me gasping for breath as sadness, rage, guilt, and regret – emotions I have held back for so long – take over. I'm clinging onto memories but it's not enough. Oil leaks out of my eyes, staining my sleep pod's sheets black, as I choke on my sobs and the stale air.

I know it's been years since that day.

I know that Sparx, Nova, Otto, and Gibson hate this day as much as I do.

I know that I should try and move on… but I can't.

How can I fully move on, when I had lost a part of my heart and my soul on that day?

That one September 21st…

The pendant slips out of my hands as I grip the sheets, burying my face into the cloth as I weep. I taste oil in my mouth but don't bother to wipe my face clean of my black tears. I'll have to have Otto replace whatever vital fluids the silver monkey needs tomorrow…

Sometimes I wish that I had let myself die, instead of allowing my spirit to fuse with this shell that's more machine than simian. I can still eat like any normal living being and feel emotions, but I can no longer feel warm. My body remains cold, as cold as my former one had been when I sacrificed myself to purify the Power Primate when it had been corrupted by Skeleton King and the Dark One Worm.

Had I embraced death then maybe… I would be with Yinya again, wherever she is…

But I couldn't bear to leave Chiro and my siblings so I let myself stay, tethered to Chiro's soul until he had managed to put me inside the silver monkey. I'm happy that I'm still here with them, with the rest of my family.

But some days, especially this day, I wish I could be with her again.

'_Yinya…' _my soul cries out as my sobs peter out. My hands can't stop shaking as I feel through the darkness until I retrieve my pendant, the quartzite stained black with my tears.

I remember how I had worked so hard on this pendant and its other half – the yin, which had been made out of black quartz with a single dot of quartzite – while on Koraladol, carving the crystals needed with my own Ghost Claws, wanting to make it perfect. It had been Yinya's first birthday away from our family, as she, Mandarin, and I had started our training with the Varon Mystics a few months before her birthday, and I had wanted to cheer her up.

I can still remember the pure joy on her face when I gave her the two pendants, how her eyes glowed when she held them in her hands. She had put the yin half around her neck before giving me the yang one, much to my confusion. I thought she would keep it for herself or… give it to someone she liked.

"_If you say that the other half is for someone I like, then that someone must be _my_ other half. The yang to my yin. Who else would it be but you?"_

I let out a sob, a single black tear sliding down my face, and clutch my pendant to my chest. It's all I have left of Yinya. This, and my memories…

"I miss you…" I whisper, closing my eyes.

And for a brief moment, I imagine Yinya's voice, whispering back…

"_I miss you too, 'Tauri…"_

* * *

**If anyone's wondering why I chose September 21****st**** specifically, I got inspired by Seita's opening narration in the Studio Ghibli film "Grave of the Fireflies."**

"**September 21****st****, 1945. That was the day I died."**

**Pardon me if Antauri's OOC in this chapter. In later chapters, that OOC-ness will still be present as I delve deeper into the Monkey Team's past, particularly Antauri's. He was quite a different monkey back then, that's all I can tell you.**

**In the meantime, read and review!**


	3. 2: Jinmay and Nova

**Okay, so this was supposed to be just a side project, a way to take a break from HTTYD and Harry Potter… But now, my past self wants me to see this story to the end.**

**I'll still update "Jemma Dursley and the Phoenix Soul Reborn" soon. Next chapter might be posted next Friday.**

**To MadameMirage77, I'm glad I'm not the only one who remembers SRMTHFG and wants Disney to give it a much-deserved conclusion. Your OC, Irene, sounds like quite a character. I hope I'll be able to read more about her adventures when you make an account here.**

**As for your question regarding Yinya's appearance, she's magenta-colored. Her body's a deep pinkish purple shade, about the same color as a fine red wine. And her eyes are cyan with white dots like the rest of the monkeys. She wields Ghost Claws like Antauri.**

**Out of all of the monkeys, Antauri was the one whom Yinya was closest to – and there's a very special reason for that, which I think I will reveal in the third chapter.**

**In the meantime, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!**

**NOTE: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING EXCEPT FOR MY OC!**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

**Jinmay**

After the movie and stopping by Mr. Gakslapper's for Otto and Sparx's Hoverburgers, Chiro and I return to the Super Robot. The monkeys are training in the gym, located beside the medbay near Nova's section of the robot.

Chiro and I play video games, talk about our plans to enroll together in Shuggazoom High next year, then start sparring in the main chamber. I laugh as I dodge Chiro's Lightning Kick easily and retaliate with a few weak energy blasts from my hand rockets. He puts up a shield in time, the Power Primate heeding his call and materializing as a green energy shield in front of him. He grins cockily at me, and I grin back. I catch him by surprise as soon as his shield goes down, and kick him in the chest, sending him backwards into the wall with a cry of pain.

"Chiro!" Oh, scrap, did I kick him too hard?! Nova always tells me to be mindful of my strength, which is higher than an average human's. I know Chiro's strong, having been trained by some of the universe's greatest warriors and having gone through things no ordinary person should ever go through, but he's still human… still vulnerable.

"Are you okay?" I ask, rushing over to my boyfriend's slumped form. Chiro lets out a groan as he lifts his head to meet my eyes. Then he snickers, his baby blue eyes glimmering with mischief.

Looks like I've walked right into a tickle trap.

I scream when Chiro suddenly lunges at me then start laughing as he starts tickling me, his fingers wiggling against my sides and my stomach. Being an android programmed to behave just like a human girl, I have built-in sensory receptors that enable me to react to various stimuli like a normal human being. And one of those sensations is tickling.

"Ch-hi-hiro! S-stop!" I squeal, my monkey boy wrapping his arms around me in a hug. We smile and kiss for a brief moment, the two of us sitting on the floor of the main chamber. I check the wall I had accidentally thrown Chiro against earlier, then I see that one of the wall panels had come loose.

I tap Chiro's shoulder then point at the wall. We head over and examine it. The damage doesn't look too bad. Maybe we can just pop it back into place…

A faint pinkish glow stops us in our tracks.

"There's something in here…" I murmur, pressing my ear to the wall, listening for anything that could indicate a presence of an enemy. The only thing I hear is a faint bubbling. Carefully, I pry the wall panel open while Chiro gets into a battle stance.

What we find shocks us to our very cores.

"Another robot monkey?" Chiro breathes out as we step inside the small space housing a single tube filled with magenta fluid.

Floating inside the tube is a robot monkey with magenta fur, its cyan eyes closed in slumber. Cautious we go closer to get a better look. The tube housing the robot monkey's covered in a thick layer of dust. I brush some of it away at the bottom. "Chiro, look," I whisper as a plaque becomes visible.

**YNYA11**

"**Yinya"**

'_Yinya… must be a girl monkey…' _I think, my eyebrows knitting together in confusion. Weird… Nova never mentioned having a sister before…

"Chiro." I glance at my boyfriend, who's staring at the slumbering monkey with his mouth slightly open. "Chiro, did the team ever say anything about a _seventh _monkey?" I ask.

I thought Mandarin was the only other monkey. Judging by the look on Chiro's face, he must have thought so, too. "No… they didn't," he mumbles and I see a flash of hurt in his eyes. I squeeze his shoulder reassuringly. We'd all promised as a team to never keep secrets from each other. But this… this feels like a secret.

But this doesn't make sense. The Monkey Team would never keep secrets from Chiro. And, yet, there's another robot monkey like them hidden here inside the Super Robot. Surely, Antauri and the others would have told him about it. Unless… are they perhaps not aware of Yinya's existence?

"Maybe Antauri and the others know something they haven't been telling me," Chiro says quietly, wiping away more of the dust from Yinya's tube. He looks up at Yinya, stuck in stasis, and his betrayed look morphs into a sympathetic one.

I take in my surroundings and find that everything in the room is covered in dust and reeks of stale air. _'Poor Yinya…' _I look at her, at how serene her face is as she floats in a sleep that has lasted for who knows how long.

"Maybe we can ask them?" I suggest, remembering that Nova and the others are in the gym. Maybe they can give us some answers.

Chiro's face lights up. "That's a good idea, Jinmay. Come on, let's go," he tells me and we turn around and leave. Chiro lets me go out of the room first. Just as I'm about to head to the gym, I look over my shoulder and see him staring at the inside of the room.

"Chiro, come on!" I call out and he places the panel back into the wall, following me to the gym.

* * *

The monkeys are just about done training, Nova leaping up to take out one of the new training drones Otto designed. "Flame Fist Fury!" she yells, taking out the drone with a fiery punch. Shards of metal explode in the air as she lands on the floor, a triumphant smile on her face.

"Hey, guys!" Chiro waves hello, his cheerful smile masking the curiosity he and I are both feeling.

I spy one of the training drones, a hulking metal orb with massive pincers, lurking in the shadows. Just as it's about to sneak attack Nova, I raise my right fist and transform it into my blast cannon and fire.

BOOM!

"You missed one," I wink at my simian sister who sheepishly rubs the back of her head.

"How was the movie?" Otto asks, shutting down the gym's operating system.

"Did you get our Hoverburgers?" Sparx asks, licking his lips in anticipation.

"Movie was okay. Hoverburgers are in the kitchen. But," Chiro steps in before Otto and Sparx can even make a run for their snacks. "if you want them, you'll have to answer my question," he says, his face turning serious.

Gibson raises an eyebrow at him expectantly. "What sort of question?"

Chiro glances at me and I nod. We'd just discovered a seventh monkey and we want to know who she is. Facing the team, Chiro goes for it.

"Do you guys have a sister named Yinya?"

* * *

**Nova**

"_Do you guys have a sister named Yinya?"_

How…?

"…_a sister named Yinya?"_

We haven't uttered that name in years…

"…_Yinya?"_

How does Chiro know her name?

I swear my eyes are nearly popping out of their sockets. I don't need to look behind me to know that the guys are just as shocked as I am. Chiro and Jinmay stand before us, their gazes questioning and confused.

"Chiro, where… where did you hear that name?" I ask, willing my voice not to tremble. But it's tough, because just hearing her name's bringing back so many memories.

Chiro and Jinmay look at each other, surprised at my answer, then motion for us to follow them.

A couple of minutes later we're in front of one of the walls of the Robot's main chamber, where Chiro carefully pries off one of the panels.

I cover my mouth to block out a gasp at what I see.

My little sis…

"No way…" Sparx breathes out, his voice shaky.

"I-Impossible!" Gibson squeaks out, staring at the tube that holds a familiar magenta robot monkey with wide eyes.

"It's… It's really her…" Otto chokes out, stepping close enough to Yinya's tube to rest his hand on the tempered glass.

I touch the glass as well, my eyes welling up with tears. _'Oh Yin… Little sis, is this where you've been the whole time?' _I think, my resolve not to cry getting weaker and weaker by the second.

"You guys _do _know her…"

I glance over my shoulder and I see Chiro looking at us, his blue eyes screaming betrayal.

"Chiro, wait," I sigh and walk over to him just as he avoids my gaze, sending a knife through my heart. "We're so sorry we didn't tell you." It's a lame apology but it's the best I've got.

"Who is she? Why didn't you guys tell me about her?" Chiro asks, looking back and forth between Yinya and I.

Before I can answer, Gibson shouts, "I heard footsteps from above… It's Antauri!"

He can't see this… We have to move.

Quickly, Sparx and I push Chiro and Jinmay out of the small space. Otto and Gibson hasten to put the panel back in place. They've just finished pushing it back in when Antauri comes down from his black tube. He walks, not levitating, past us without even glancing in our direction.

"An-" Sparx covers Chiro's mouth just in time. Antauri leaves us in the main chamber and, in a few minutes, comes back with a small bowl of salad and a glass of water. He glances at us for just a brief second, and it takes all my willpower not to cry at the sight of his dull blue eyes.

I want to tell him about Chiro and Jinmay's discovery. But the memory of Yinya floating in that tube, eyes closed in stasis, comes back along with another memory…

* * *

"_She's… gone…"_

_My golden fur, already drenched by the rain, became wetter and stickier as Antauri cried in my arms._

"_Sh-she's gone and… she's… she's never coming back!" My brother howled, his yellow-green eyes filled with tears and complete and utter despair._

_I didn't know what to do. My own heart was hurting that day as well… but it was probably nothing compared to Antauri's grief._

_The best I could do was to hold Antauri, the rest of us joining in the hug, and let him cry…_

* * *

That awful memory stops playing in my head when Antauri breaks eye contact with us and goes back up to his room without a single word. I breathe a heavy sigh, the guys doing the same.

It always breaks our hearts to see Antauri like this. Every September 21st, our spiritual guru becomes a shadow of his former self. He stays in his room all day, going out only when he needs to grab something to eat. And he becomes completely silent, never uttering a single word.

Sparx, Otto, Gibson, and I… we've tried to get him to talk to us but he won't. Antauri withdraws himself from us and the entire world on this day, too wrapped up in grief.

If we hadn't covered the wall earlier, he would have seen Yinya. He'd already seen her in that state once and it had broken his heart. If he saw her again now, it won't be just his heart but his spirit that gets broken.

I can't bear to see Antauri cry again. Seeing him cry _once_ was already heartbreaking enough.

"That was close…" Sparx uncovers Chiro's mouth and leans against him, looking drained.

"Shouldn't we have…?" Chiro asked, pointing at the wall hiding Yinya, his brow furrowed.

"We can't, Chiro. Antauri mustn't know," Otto said, shaking his head sadly.

"But…" Realization flashes in Chiro's eyes. "Is that why Antauri's acting like this? Because of…" his voice drops to a whisper. "…Yinya?"

"September 21st was the date she ended up in stasis. Two months later, the Alchemist… terminated her." Gibson glances at the wall, his eyes holding a spark of anger inside them. "But it seems our creator had lied to us," he says darkly.

"He told us that he'd shut her down and disassembled her." Sparx clenches his hands into fists. "But she's still here… She's always been here and we didn't know!" he shouts, frustrated.

Hot tears burn my eyes but I refuse to let them fall. I'm just as angry as Sparx now. First, he became the Skeleton King and tried to destroy Shuggazoom and the galaxy… Now, we've discovered that the Alchemist, our creator… our _Father_… had lied about our little sister's fate.

'_Why? Why did you lie to us? Why did you lie to me? To Antauri? WHY?' _I look up, mentally screaming at my father to answer me even though I know I won't get a reply.

Chiro and Jinmay sit down in the egg-shaped chairs made for all of us, looking all sorts confused.

"I-I'm sorry. I'm confused, so confused…" Jinmay mumbles, putting a hand to her head. I'm pretty sure all of the gears in her head are whirring like crazy, trying to process all of this information.

Chiro looks at us, his eyes pleading. He looks at me and, in a quiet voice, asks, "Nova, who _is _Yinya?"

I grasp my upper left arm with my right hand, fingers nearly denting the metal as I grip my arm hard. Looking at the guys, I see it in their eyes.

We don't really have a choice now. We have to tell them.

But not today. Tomorrow, when Antauri's snapped out of this. We'll send him out to patrol the entire city, giving us the freedom to openly talk about Yinya.

Antauri will accept. I know he will. He always makes it a point to make up for his absence the day after September 21st.

"Tomorrow, Chiro. We'll tell you and Jinmay everything tomorrow," I say at last and smile a little. "But, for now, we carry on as usual."

Chiro doesn't protest and he and Jinmay nod their assent.

For the rest of the day, we do our usual routines – albeit, without Antauri.

We don't mention Yinya for the rest of the day.

* * *

**Next chapter, the story of the Lost Monkey finally gets told.**

**-GuardianDragon98**


	4. 3: Antauri and Chiro 2

**MadameMirage77, I thank you for the reviews. Your comments on each chapter inspire me to do my best with each chapter of "The Lost Monkey."**

**Regarding Irene's Rosary Whip, I'm curious. What does the whip actually look like? And why does she call it "Rosary Whip?"**

**That incident with Sparx is kind of funny. I guess after that little accident, Mandarin told her to be more careful, prompting her to use only one energy whip.**

**Here's the next chapter. I've added a little something before we move on to the very meat of this story, which is the Monkey Team telling Chiro and Jinmay about their past. Enjoy!**

**NOTE: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING HERE EXCEPT FOR YINYA!**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

**Antauri**

The entire team's gone to bed by the time I leave my room. I feel terrible for shutting everyone out today, especially Chiro who doesn't even know why. No matter. Tomorrow, I'll make it up to my family. I'll put on a brave face and be back to my old self tomorrow.

For now, I need to go stargazing.

I head outside, sitting on the Super Robot's shoulder, and tilt my head up. The lights of Shuggazoom City get dimmer as the night gets deeper and the light smog soon dissipates to reveal a night sky dotted with stars.

Yinya loved to look at the stars. She could stare up at the night sky for hours on end without getting bored. She and I used to stargaze every Friday night and we would play a game where we'd try to guess the names of whatever constellations were depicted in the skies at the time. Then Yinya would make up new constellations, connecting the stars with imaginary lines drawn by her finger to form a new image. I loved it when she did that.

* * *

**(Author's Note: For this part, I recommend listening to "Isabella's Lullaby" from "The Promised Neverland" OST)**

"_Wow…" Yinya breathed out as we looked up at the stars while on the roof of our jungle home in the Savage Lands._

_I smiled at her awestruck expression. This was her first night with all of us since she'd been activated, and I wanted her first day of life to end with something special. So, without permission, we'd snuck out of our rooms while everyone was asleep (I used my Ghost Claws to pick the lock on the front door) and had climbed onto the roof to go stargazing._

"_Those are stars, Yinya." I gestured to the twinkling specks scattered across the heavens. "The universe is full of them," I told her._

_Yinya nodded, her cyan eyes trained on the night sky. "Gibson told me that stars are balls of plasma held together by their own gravity. He told me that they aren't alive like we are. But the way they shine…" she looked at me, her expression thoughtful. "I find it hard to believe that stars aren't alive. I mean, the way they shine... They look so… lively," she said haltingly, her cheeks turning a darker shade of red._

_I blinked at her, trying to make sense of what she just said, before chuckling. Her curiosity knew no bounds, and she was already thinking such deep thoughts. Looking up at the stars, I had to agree with her. The way the stars twinkled, their diamond pinpricks of light reaching us from such great distances, really made it look like they were alive and not just pockets of luminous hot air._

"_I guess you're right," I said, making Yinya grin and her eyes shine like the stars themselves._

"_This has been the best first day ever!" She threw her hands up in the air. "And the stars are so beautiful! I want to see them every night! Can we do this again, 'Tauri?" she asked me, using the little nickname she'd made up for me not long after we were formally introduced to one another._

_Before I can answer, we hear our Father's voice._

"_Ah, there you two are. I was wondering why the door was unlocked."_

_Yinya and I exchanged nervous glances before looking down. The Alchemist, our creator, our father, had a knowing smile on his wise face. "Antauri, Yinya, you two should be in bed," he told us gently._

_Sheepish, we climbed down and stood in front of Father with our heads down like young children who'd been caught making mischief. Then Yinya spoke. "Look, Father! Aren't the stars amazing?" she exclaimed, pointing at the heavens._

_Father looked up at the night sky for a brief moment and smiled. "Indeed they are, Yinya. Beautiful things the stars are," he said softly before looking at us with a slightly stern look. "But I don't want you two getting sick from staying up past your bedtime."_

"_I picked the lock," I confessed, my tail swishing nervously behind me. I just wanted to make sure that Yinya's first day of being a part of our family ended on a good note…_

_Father smiled at me and gently patted my head. "I know you did it for a good cause, Antauri. But the next time you and Yinya want to go stargazing, you ask me. Do you understand?" he reminded me._

_I nodded, still feeling a little embarrassed._

_Yinya jumped up and down excitedly. "Can 'Tauri and I go stargazing again tomorrow night, please?" she asked._

"_That'll be two nights in a row that you've stayed up late, Yinya. What if you get sick?" Father questioned her._

_Yinya's face fell. She tapped her right hand's fingers against her head, thinking, before her eyes lit up. "Well… can 'Tauri and I go stargazing once a week?" she asked, looking for a compromise._

_She knew a thing or two about negotiating, that's for sure._

"_I don't see why not. You and Antauri can go stargazing, but only on Friday nights, is that clear?" Father chuckled._

"_Crystal." Yinya looked at us, a bit confused. "Um… when's Friday?" she asked, still unfamiliar with the days of the week._

_Father and I laughed. We still had much to teach Yinya. It was only her first day, after all._

_We went back inside where Yinya gave me a hug. "This was the best first day ever!" she proclaimed then whispered in my ear, "Thank you, 'Tauri."_

_I hugged her back, whispering "You're welcome, Yinya.." Before we headed to our rooms for the night._

* * *

I smile at the distant memory, looking up at the stars for the both of us. Compared to our old home in the Savage Lands, the skies aren't that clear in Shuggazoom City so the stars aren't always visible. But late at night, the heavens become a dark tapestry where the stars could weave themselves into works of art.

Humming an old tune Yinya had composed, I think of those happy times. When we were young, naïve about the great evil we were made to fight - who, eventually, would turn out to be our own creator – and when we were still allowed to just be us and not the great heroes Shuggazoom City's citizens admire.

For once I'm glad that Yinya isn't here. I don't know if she would have been able to bear the idea of fighting Father. She had been so much like a child back then: innocent, always curious, and brimming with smiles and laughter. Even as we grew up, and as she matured and became more aware of our purpose, she never failed to greet the world with a wide smile and always viewed each day as an opportunity to experience new things.

I breathe in the cool night air and sigh, humming quietly.

I miss her.

I miss having her by my side on nights like this.

I miss seeing her eyes light up like the stars above us whenever we stargazed.

"_The stars are so beautiful, 'Tauri…" _Her voice echoes in my head, bringing back memories.

"Not as beautiful as you…" I whisper to the air, and hopefully to Yinya's spirit, a single tear sliding down my face.

* * *

**Chiro**

Antauri's in a better mood today. Almost as if yesterday didn't happen. He makes breakfast this time, talks to the team, smiles whenever Otto or Sparx crack jokes, and offers advice to Nova, Jinmay, Gibson, and I whenever we need it. But I know better now. He's putting up a façade so we won't worry.

Well, too late. I'm already worried. I've been worried since yesterday. Now that Jinmay and I've found Yinya, we have to know her story, why Antauri was so crushed at her leaving.

Once breakfast is over, Nova announces that someone has to go and patrol the city. Antauri readily volunteers, and we all agree to let him do it. I know he wants to make up for not being around yesterday, and I'm pretty sure this was the rest of the team's idea – to get Antauri out of the Super Robot so we can go see Yinya again and finally talk.

"I will return once I've made a full patrol," Antauri tells us as he goes to the main tube.

"Take all the time you need, Antauri," Otto smiles.

"We'll hold down the fort for ya!" Sparx gives him a thumbs up.

Nodding, Antauri steps into the orange tube and is lifted up and out of the Super Robot. Gibson watches him fly off into the city from the main monitor then sighs, "Alright, he's out of sight."

I pry off the wall panel covering Yinya's little room and we step inside. For a moment, Jinmay and I keep a respectful distance as Nova, Sparx, Gibson, and Otto crowd around Yinya's tube.

For a moment, they just stare at her – their little sister – their faces solemn. I can only imagine just how painful it must be for them, to see Yinya after believing that she was gone for good…

"I don't understand…" Gibson's the first to speak, inspecting the tube holding Yinya. "Why did the Alchemist keep her here?" he murmured.

What I'd like to know – apart from her story - is what caused Yinya to end up in stasis in the first place.

"Hey, guys… I found something."

Otto pries open one of the floor panels and pulls out a small metal box, its size around 10x5 inches. Jinmay and I join in the huddle as he opens it.

Inside is a tiny mandolin, just the right size for one of the monkeys to hold and play, a pendant, and two photographs. I pull out the pendant and see that it's one half of the yin and yang symbol I've seen depicted in Antauri's room. It's the yin part of the circle, a single chip of quartzite embedded into black quartz.

Nova's lips twitched into a wistful smile. "Antauri made that for Yinya while they were on Koraladol together with Mandarin for her birthday," she told me, pulling out one of the two photographs in the box.

Mandarin's there – this was probably taken way before he turned against the team – standing to the right with an amused and exasperated look on his face. Antauri's in the left side of the picture, still in his original black body, and I've never seen him smile so widely in my life. He looks so happy…

In the middle of the photo, her arms slung over both Antauri and Mandarin, is Yinya. She's got the biggest grin on her face and, even in the stillness of a photograph, it's like her eyes are alive with joy. All three of them are dressed in the dark robes of initiates of the Verron Mystics. I look closely and see that she's wearing the same pendant I now hold in my hand, while Antauri wears a pendant of his own – fashioned in the shape of the white yang half of the circle.

"She was such a happy monkey…" Jinmay commented, her eyes soft.

"That's 'cause she was." Otto pulls out the one photograph left, holding it up for all to see. "She was like a pure ray of sunshine. No matter how bad someone felt, Yinya always found a way to make them happy. She definitely made _us _feel that way," he said softly, the rest of the team staring at the photograph in his hand with wistful smiles.

I look at the photograph, my eyes wide in amazement. In it, the Alchemist stands – still uncorrupted by the dark energy that would transform him into Skeleton King – smiling proudly, while the Monkey Team ham it up for the camera in front. Yinya's in the very center of the group, being hugged by Nova, and the smile on her face is just so bright that I find it hard to believe that the silent, slumbering, monkey floating now in the tube in front of me was once this lively soul.

"How old were you guys when the Alchemist made her?" I ask.

"We'd only been active for a year. Yinya was pretty much the baby of the family," Nova giggled. I have a feeling that she must have been a great big sister.

Antauri stands a little off to Yinya's right, Mandarin between the two of them. And while's he's smiling, he's not looking at the camera like the others.

He's looking at Yinya, a warm smile on his face.

Sparx catches me staring and snickers. "Yep, they were a thing, kid. They didn't really say it, but the rest of us knew that Antauri and Yinya had something special happening between them."

"I never thought of Antauri as a romantic," I chuckle at the image – my spiritual advisor/father figure blushing like a schoolboy in front of his crush.

"Out of all of us, Antauri was the one closest to Yinya and vice versa. They rarely spent a moment apart," Gibson sighed, picking up the mandolin. Amazingly, the instrument's still intact. But when he tries to pluck a few of the mandolin's strings, they snap.

"He loved her." Nova smiled sadly as she looked at Yinya. "When the Alchemist decided to shut down Yinya, Antauri was devastated. He begged him not to do it, practically screamed at our father that there had to be something we could do… that _he _could do… to bring her back," she said quietly.

Bring her back…?

"What happened to her?" I ask, already beginning to see some of the pieces to the puzzle that is Yinya.

"We don't know the full details, Chiro." Nova gestures for me and Jinmay to sit down, she and the guys doing the same thing. Looks like this is going to be a long story.

"All six of us had gone off to different parts of the galaxy to train. Antauri, Mandarin, and Yinya, as you know by now, were sent to Koraladol to be trained in the Power Primate. About a year into our separate training, we each received a message from Mandarin saying that we had to return to Shuggazoom, that something had happened to Yinya.

"When Sparx, Gibson, Otto, and I came back… Yinya was already like this," Nova sighs, her gaze lowering.

"Did Mandarin and Antauri know what happened to her?" Jinmay asks, clasping her hands in front of her chest.

"Mandarin had no idea. Antauri…" Gibson ran his fingers over the mandolin's wooden frame. "I think he was there when the incident happened, but he wouldn't say anything. And we didn't dare force him to tell us. Not when he was in a fragile state of mind," he tells us.

"He was a complete wreck. He refused to leave Yinya's side the whole two _months _the Alchemist tried to fix her. He couldn't meditate and spent most of his time pacing in the lab while the Alchemist worked on her, barely ate. And whenever we finally got him to calm down and sleep, he'd just wake up in the middle of the night screaming Yinya's name. Those two months were tough, especially for him…" Sparx mutters, looking at the floor with a defeated gaze.

I feel terrible just thinking about what the team had had to go through. Being called back home only to find that their youngest member was in trouble, and having to endure two months of waiting for a sign that she was going to get better… all while trying to keep Antauri from completely losing his mind.

And Antauri… I can only imagine the kind of pain he was feeling at the time, the girl he loved in stasis and just waiting and hoping for a miracle that would bring her back.

"Did the Alchemist find out what was wrong with her?" I ask softly.

"I worked with him in trying to fix Yinya. Physically, she was completely fine. There was nothing wrong with any of her systems, no viruses infecting her brain." Otto shrugs. His tail droops as he drops the crucial bit of information.

"But… her _soul _was _gone_."

Holy Shuggazoom, _what?_

"It's hard to explain." It's only when Nova speaks up do Jinmay and I realize that we'd just spoken our thoughts out loud. "Whatever happened to Yinya… caused her soul to detach itself from her body. She's physically alive but… her soul, everything that makes her _her..._ is gone," she manages to say before suddenly breaking down in tears.

Sparx wraps an arm around Nova, letting her cry on his shoulder. "Sh-she was so young! And she had such a good heart… All she wanted was t-to protect Shuggazoom with us, to be with her family…" Nova whimpers, her bubblegum pink eyes filling with tears.

Unable to bear it, I hug her, the rest of the team following suit. Soon, Sparx, Otto, and Gibson start crying as well.

"I miss racing with her. She always loved to fly fast…" Sparx mumbled.

"I miss talking about astronomy with her. She had so much potential, a true prodigy…" Gibson sighed.

"I miss laughing with her. She and I often competed to see who'd get Mandarin to laugh the most…" Otto sniffled.

My heart breaks for my team. They've lived with the pain of losing a family member for so long and I didn't even know…

'_Can you hear that, Yinya? They miss you…' _I think, gazing at Yinya – her physical form forever stuck in stasis while her soul is lost to the void.

I wonder if she's here, hearing her siblings pour out all of their grief. Part of me thinks she is. Ever since Jinmay and I found this room, I've been feeling like… like there's something else in here aside from the memories of a lost monkey.

Almost as if…

"We're so sorry… we didn't know…" Jinmay's soft voice brings me out of my thoughts. The team stops crying, wiping away their tears.

"It's okay, Jinmay. We honestly thought you two wouldn't need to know about her…" Nova says, standing up and resting her right hand on the glass of Yinya's tube.

"You guys found her." Sparx follows her lead. "We thought we'd never get to see her again after the Alchemist told us he was going to shut her down," he added.

"On September 21st, we lost our sister." Gibson chuckled, wiping away the dust on Yinya's plaque. "And on September 21st, we found her again… after all these years… The universe certainly works in mysterious ways…"

"It's sad that she's not actually here, but…" Otto smiled, hugging the tube holding Yinya as best as he could. "Just knowing that she hadn't been destroyed makes me feel a little better," he says.

Jinmay and I can only look on, our own eyes filling with tears, as we witness a sad reunion. "You guys must have a lot of fond memories of her," I remark, the team looking up at me, their faces perking up.

"Loads, kid. We got loads of great memories with Yinya," Sparx tells me.

"Can you tell us some of those stories?" Jinmay sits cross-legged on the floor, waiting for one of the monkeys to begin. I sit down as well. This, I have to hear.

"I'll go first!" Nova grins, sitting against Yinya's tube.

"Hey, I'm the one who said we got a load of great memories with Yinya…" Sparx protests.

"True, but did Yinya ever call you _nee-chan_?" Nova smirks at Sparx's blush.

"No, because I'm a guy…" Sparx mumbles.

"_Nee-chan_?" I raise an eyebrow. I feel like I've heard that term before.

"It means 'big sister.'" Nova smiles proudly before launching into her story…

* * *

**So this is focused on the team explaining what had happened to Yinya. Nova, Sparx, Otto, and Gibson have the general idea of what caused Yinya to go into stasis but they don't know the full story.**

**Antauri's the only one who really knows what happened, but he's not saying anything for reasons unknown… which will be made known towards the end of this story, wink, wink!**

**I hope I captured the individual personalities of each monkey, and maybe added an extra layer of depth to each of their characters. You can definitely tell that they really loved Yinya, their baby sister…**

**Next chapter's going to be in Nova's POV. Until then, read and review!**

**-GuardianDragon98**


	5. 4: Nova 2

**Here we learn about Yinya through her "nee-chan," Nova!**

**MadameMirage77, a good guess about why Antauri doesn't want to tell any of the other monkeys what had happened… but not quite. Don't worry, all will be revealed soon enough ;)**

**On with the story!**

**NOTE: I DO NOT OWN SRMTHFG!**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

**Nova**

One day, Father had woken us up early and took us to his lab. We were all pretty excited. We rarely got to go inside his lab, except for checkups and to test out different types of weapons to see which ones would be best for us.

Antauri, particularly, was the most excited out of all of us. Father had been working on something big for weeks and, for some reason, Antauri was the only one allowed to go inside his lab during those weeks. Many times, we tried to get him to tell us what he was up to in Father's lab but he'd always smile enigmatically and say that it was a surprise.

Mandarin and I were a little jealous, to be honest, but we never let our envy show.

On that day, Antauri's excitement definitely showed through his wide smile and through his eyes, which were practically _glowing_. The rest of us found it all amusing since Antauri rarely expressed his emotions so strongly.

When we got to the lab, Mandarin, Sparx, Gibson, Otto, and I were amazed to see a tube filled with magenta liquid set up in the middle of the room. And floating inside the tube was another robot monkey like us. My mouth dropped open as did the rest of the guys.

"We're getting another sibling!" Otto whooped, jumping up and down.

I glanced at Antauri who was standing next to a confused-looking Mandarin. "Surprise," he said, grinning.

Father smiled and walked over to a lever and pulled it. A flash of electricity illuminated the tube then the fluid inside it drained out. There was a loud hiss as the tube opened and a great puff of steam came rushing out.

I soon found myself staring as a magenta-furred robot monkey with bright cyan eyes stepped out of the tube, yawning and rubbing its eyes.

"Welcome to the world, Yinya," Father said gently, kneeling down to the monkey's eye level.

My eyes lit up upon hearing the name. Yinya… I had a _sister_.

Yinya let out a cute yawn and stretched a bit before focusing her gaze on Father and the rest of us. Then she smiled the most adorable smile. "Hello!" she greeted us, waving. When she saw Antauri, she smiled even wider. "Hi, Antauri!"

Figures she would recognize Antauri. He must have helped Father build her.

"Hello, Yinya. It's nice to finally meet you," Antauri chuckled, his olive green eyes shining.

I raised an eyebrow at Father who smiled tenderly at me. "Do you remember your wish last Christmas, dearest Nova?" he asked me.

"You remembered!" I gasped and let out a joyful laugh. Last Christmas, I'd wished for a sister who would play with me and my stuffed animals, who I could confide in whenever I felt troubled. A sister who would understand me when the guys didn't.

Father remembered my wish… and made it come true.

"You made her for me?" I asked, astonished.

"I made her for all of you." Father placed a hand on Yinya's shoulder. "She's the youngest of you seven, and I want all of you to make her feel welcome in our family," he said then smiled at Yinya. "Go ahead, my dear." He gently patted her head, letting her go to us.

Yinya went to Antauri first, hugging him with a delighted laugh. I'm pretty sure that Antauri's cheeks turned pink at her actions as he hugged her back, smiling shyly.

She hugged each of us, that big smile of hers never leaving her face. And, to our amazement, she already knew all of our names and identified each of us correctly.

"Big sister!" Yinya cheered as she hugged me, giggling. Suns and stars, she was so sweet! My heart just _melted_ at her smile.

I giggled and gave her a tight squeeze. "Nice to meet you, Yinya. I'm Nova," I said, my heart fit to burst with so much joy and love.

"I know. Antauri told me about you and everyone," Yinya said, her cyan eyes sparkling, and nuzzled her cheek against mine. "I love you, big sis."

I blinked, processing her words, before smiling and hugging Yinya. I couldn't believe it. She'd only known me for five minutes and she already loved me.

Then and there, I made a promise to Yinya and to myself: that I was going to be the best big sister I could ever be for her.

* * *

"Hyah!"

_**Determined.**_

"Yah!"

_That's one word I can use to describe Yinya._

I watched as she scored another hit, a light swaying of the punching bag her reward.

"Haaaahhhh!"

This time, Yinya punched too hard and the punching bag swung back and knocked her over!

"Maybe move out of the way next time," I suggested to my little sister as she lay flat on her back on the training room's matted floor.

"Yeah, and I'd probably do better if I had huge fists like yours," Yinya replied, grinning sheepishly.

I laughed as I summoned my Robo-Fists and started punching as well, loving the sound of my fists impacting the bag's firm leather.

Three months after Yinya joined our family, Father finally finished making our weapons – the ones we'd been most comfortable with. I got Robo-Fists that could shatter boulders with one punch, Sparx got these magnets that could generate massive quantities of electro-magnetic energy, Gibson got these drills that could fire an array of projectiles, and Otto got these nifty power saws that could cut through anything. Mandarin received an energy sword and shield, very special weapons as he was to be our leader when we grew up. Antauri and Yinya both received Ghost Claws. So far, we were getting pretty good at using them. Even Yinya, who was a whole year younger than us, was able to keep up with us in training.

As I punched the bag, I could feel Yinya watching me. Pulling my fist back, I unleashed a super powerful punch that sent the bag flying off its hook. It landed a few yards away from me, a loud thud echoing throughout the training room.

"Woohoo!" Yinya cheered, standing up and looking at me in awe.

"And that's how it's done," I said, dusting off my palms, giving my sister a confident smile.

"You're amazing… _nee-chan_."

"_Nee-chan_…?" I parroted, confused.

The magenta, nearly wine red, fur on Yinya's cheeks darkened as she shyly shuffled her feet. "It's from this foreign language book I was reading the other day. '_Nee-chan'_ means 'big sister,'" she explained before looking at me with a faint blush on her cheeks. "Can I call you that, Nova?" she asked hopefully.

"Nee-chan…" I tested the word out, the syllables rolling off my tongue, and smiled. "I'd be honored if you'd call me that, Yin," I told her.

From that day onward, Yinya called me 'nee-chan.' For her, it was both a sign of respect and a sign of endearment. For me, it was a badge of honor. I was proud to bear that title, even when the guys didn't quite get it until Yinya and I showed them the book where she'd gotten the term from.

* * *

Despite her amiable and sweet personality, Yinya had a strong fighting spirit which showed every time she sparred with one of us. She would push herself to her limits, determined to prove to us that she could fight as well as we could who had more experience. Yinya always apologized after every spar. Mandarin often told her that she didn't need to apologize since the purpose of our sparring sessions was to toughen ourselves up. But Yinya kept apologizing anyway, and always helped Father in treating our injuries. My sister was just too kind.

But that didn't mean she wasn't fierce when she needed to be. With Antauri's help, she mastered using her Ghost Claws and was able to land some pretty hard hits on us during sparring sessions. She was definitely a warrior in her own right. I'd seen her rip training dummies to shreds before and, sometimes, a shiver would crawl up my spine at the sight of her blue-green Ghost Claws ripping those dummies apart.

But, during one sparring session with me and Antauri, Yinya suddenly collapsed. After she'd landed a well-aimed swipe at Antauri with her claws, she turned pale and just keeled over. Antauri and I had freaked out and rushed her to Father. Later, we found out that Yinya had overexerted herself… and that she'd been sneaking into the training room to practice late at night. No wonder she'd collapsed. She'd been wearing herself out.

When Yinya woke up, I gave her a stern talking-to.

"Why did you do that, Yin? Seriously, you could have hurt yourself…" I sighed as I sat at the edge of her bed.

Yinya looked down at her hands, folded on the sheets, and remained quiet. Finally, she looked at me and whispered, "I… I just want to be strong, Nee-chan. Like you…"

My eyes widened at her confession. Did Yinya think she wasn't strong? To me, she had shown such significant progress in her training. Heck, she'd bested Sparx last week! Sparx still had bandages all over him from that fight.

"You're already strong, Yin. I've seen you spar with Antauri. You two are evenly matched," I told her. And it was true. Thanks to the two of them being nearly inseparable, Antauri and Yinya had simultaneously developed their skills to the point where they were both at the same level.

"Yeah, but I want to be strong enough to protect all of you." Yinya shut her eyes and sighed. "Father said that we're going to protect Shuggazoom someday from a great evil. I want to be strong enough to fight that evil so nobody will get hurt. If I'm not strong enough…" Yinya's body started trembling.

I hugged her as she started crying. "Sorry… It's just that…" Her trembling got worse. "Every time I think about that evil we're gonna fight, I-I keep thinking that I might not be strong enough to fight it and… and that you, 'Tauri, and everyone will get hurt…" my sister whimpered.

I rubbed circles on Yinya's back, rocking her back and forth. "Oh, Yin… It's okay," I shushed her. I kissed her forehead and had her look me in the eye. "You don't have to be strong for all of us. Remember what Father said? We're a _team. _When we face that evil we're supposed to fight in the future, we'll fight it _together._" I smiled softly at her.

Yinya sniffled; and even when she was crying, I couldn't help but think of how cute she was. I nuzzled my cheek against hers. "And I'll protect you, Yin. I won't let anything bad happen to you. I promise," I told her.

That got Yinya smiling that lovely smile we all loved so much and she hugged me back. "You're my favorite nee-chan, Nova," she said softly.

"I'm your only nee-chan, Yinya," I laughed softly.

"I know. That's why you're my favorite!" Yinya giggled, making me laugh.

* * *

After I'd found out my little sister's fear, I made sure to keep an eye on her during training. Whenever Yinya doubted her strength, I would always tell her the same thing.

All seven of us were a team, and we would look out for each other. And no matter what we would face in the future, we would face it together.

* * *

**Present Day (Normal POV)**

"It was on that day that I realized what Yin's greatest fear was: letting us all down." Nova looked at her slumbering little sister sadly. "But she didn't let us down. She trained just as hard as the rest of us. By the time we went our separate ways to have specialized training, she'd already beaten every member of the team in a spar at least once," she told Chiro and Jinmay.

"Even Mandarin?" Chiro asked, eyes wide.

"Indeed." Gibson carefully started to repair the broken strings of Yinya's mandolin. "While her physical strength wasn't as great as Mandarin's or Nova's, Yinya's keen observation skills enabled her to identify and exploit any of our weaknesses which often led to us losing." He smiled, his gaze softening. "Ah, and her thirst for knowledge was admirable. She was always curious about everything…" he said as he began telling his tale…

* * *

**As you can see from this chapter, Yinya really cared a lot about her family and that what she feared most of all was that she wouldn't be able to protect them. She's a little sensitive and cries easily, to be honest, but she always bounces back to being her cheerful self.**

**Sometimes, the Monkey Team would go easy on Yinya during sparring sessions because, well, she was the baby of the family and they didn't want to seriously injure her. Imagine the looks on their faces when they got their tails handed to them by their sweet baby sister XD**

**Only Antauri and Mandarin knew better than to underestimate Yinya. Whenever those two sparred with her, it was always a sight to see.**

**And, yes, Yinya actually beat Mandarin – the strongest of all the monkeys - in a spar. I'll include that part in Gibson's part next chapter.**

**Until then, read and review whenever and whatever you want.**

**-GuardianDragon98**


	6. 5: Gibson

**Here with Gibson's memory of Yinya. Hope you all enjoy!**

**There's a hint of Jealous! Antauri here, by the way ;)**

**NOTE: I DO NOT OWN SRMTHFG!**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

**Gibson**

_**Precocious**_ is one word I could use to describe Yinya.

Though she'd been the last of us to be built by the Alchemist, her learning ability was astounding. Engineering and mechanics from Otto. Flying under Sparx's tutelage. Melee combat with Nova. Spiritual and philosophical studies under Antauri and Mandarin. Mathematics and Science under me.

Yinya was able to grasp all manner of concepts quickly. The Alchemist often remarked, with an amused smile, that I had competition when it came to being the smartest member of the team. I didn't mind one bit. I enjoyed teaching Yinya and even learning new things from her. She had the incredible ability to explore different topics from a whole new angle, often leading to the discovery of new insights.

She was always full of surprises, never failing to astound us all.

On one particular day, Yinya had achieved the impossible.

She had beaten Mandarin – the strongest and wisest of all seven of us – in a sparring match.

* * *

"Monkey Fu!"

I gulped as the concentrated beam of pure energy spewed forth from Mandarin's hands, headed straight for my little sister. At the last second, Yinya leaped out of the way. Landing in a crouch, she activated her Ghost Claws. "Claw Disruptor!" she cried, rushing towards Mandarin with her claws poised to strike. My eldest brother easily dodged her attacks, activating his shield whenever she came close to landing a hit. They'd been going at this for nearly half an hour, having used all of their known moves against each other. Now it was all a matter of guessing, of which moves to use and when to use them.

Otto, Nova, and Sparx cheered her on from the sidelines while the Alchemist stood and watched silently. Beside me, Antauri was watching the battle with wide anxious eyes. Every time Mandarin attacked Yinya and it made contact, he would flinch as if he had been the one struck.

I couldn't help but smile a little. His affection for our youngest sibling was so blatantly obvious that the fact that only he was completely oblivious to it was hilarious. I was fairly sure that even Yinya was aware of the way Antauri looked at her, how he treated her compared to the rest of us.

"You are too aggressive, Yinya! Defense up!" Mandarin said sharply, kicking Yinya in the ribs, the force of the kick sending her flying.

I cringed, praying that my brother's move hadn't resulted in broken ribs.

Coughing, Yinya got to her feet. Then, to my bewilderment, she _smiled. _She rushed at Mandarin again with a battle cry but, this time, she was prepared for Mandarin's countermeasures. At this point, Mandarin had started using his energy sword albeit making sure that it only made slight contact with Yinya. Despite his aggressiveness, he never wanted to intentionally hurt our little sister.

I watched in awe as Yinya dodged each of Mandarin's attacks, almost dancing around him as she evaded him. _'She's wearing him out so she can have the opportunity to strike, _I thought just as Yinya back flipped out of Mandarin's reach. Her claws sparked and bright glowing green boomerangs appeared in her hands. She threw them at Mandarin, startling him into ducking.

It was a move that none of us had ever seen before… and it was a distraction.

As her projectiles exploded against the walls, Yinya dashed forward until she was just two feet away from Mandarin. "Monkey Mind Scream!" she yelled, shockwaves exploding out of her mouth.

We could only gape as Mandarin fell to the floor, clutching his head. My own ears were ringing, so powerful was Yinya's attack.

"All right. That's enough. The match goes to Yinya," the Alchemist announced, gesturing to our little sister.

"She actually did it…" Sparx mumbled, putting a hand to his head.

Yinya went over to Mandarin and held out her hand. "You okay, Manny? I'm sorry if I caused any damage to your hearing," she said, smiling apologetically.

"No, no, you didn't. You did… very well, actually, Yinya," Mandarin grunted as she helped him to his feet. Pressing his palms together in front of him, he bowed. "You have become quite a warrior, little sister."

Yinya blushed and bowed to him as well. "Thank you, Mandarin. But it's thanks to your training that I've been able to get this far," she replied humbly.

"Hey, what about me?!" Nova hollered, grinning.

"You too, nee-chan! All of you have helped me become who I am today!" Yinya added, laughing. She looked at the Alchemist, her cyan eyes shining. "How'd I do, Father?" she asked, tail wagging.

The Alchemist chuckled, kneeling down to embrace her. "Wonderfully, Yinya. I'm so proud of you," he told her.

Smile as bright as the sun, Yinya joined us on the sidelines while Mandarin discussed today's training with Father. Antauri, Sparx, Otto, Nova, and I surrounded her.

"Great job, kiddo!" Sparx affectionately rubbed Yinya's head.

"I can't believe you actually beat _Mandarin!_" Otto exclaimed, hopping around Yinya in giddy circles.

"All that training finally paid off, sis!" Nova slung an arm over Yinya's shoulder and nuzzled her cheek.

Yinya laughed brightly before grimacing a little, rubbing her abdomen. That was my cue to take her to the infirmary. Antauri accompanied us, as he always did, and patiently sat next to Yinya as I examined her.

"Slight bruising on the abdominal region. No signs of any rib fractures as I'd originally feared," I said as I looked up at the screens displaying all of Yinya's vitals and x-rays. I produced a beaker of pain relief medicine that I'd concocted with the Alchemist's help from the medicine cabinet and handed it to Yinya, who chugged it down.

As soon as that was over, the three of us started talking about whatever topic the three of us fancied in. Out of all of my siblings, I found Antauri and Yinya the easiest to talk to and the most stimulating. They didn't laugh at me like Sparx did whenever I delved into scientific areas, space out like Otto, pretend to be interested like Nova, or dismissed me outright the way Mandarin usually did if he was busy.

Antauri and Yinya, they were always ready to listen and to discuss. Whether it was a new mathematical theory I'd been working on, philosophical debates, or something related to the secrets and wonders of the universe, the three of us could talk for hours.

On this particular day, it was Yinya's amazing come-from-behind victory.

"That was an impressive move you pulled off earlier. I'd never seen anything like it," Antauri remarked, and I knew he was referring to Yinya's energy blades.

"I call them 'Ghost Blades,'" Saying this, Yinya opened her palms, orbs of green energy materializing in them before forming into those boomerangs again. "It's a new move that I've been working on," she said before the blades fizzled out, making her sigh, "It still needs a little work."

"It's impressive nonetheless. Would you mind if you teach me that move?" I resisted the urge to laugh at the sight of Antauri blushing as he quickly added, "Wh-when you've mastered it, that is!"

I wondered if Sparx had any pictures of Antauri blushing whenever he was around Yinya…

"Not at all." Yinya smiled softly. "To be honest, it was lucky they managed to work earlier. If they hadn't, I was gonna have to change my strategy. And I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have enough time to think of something," she said, rubbing the back of her head.

"Your strategy?" I blinked.

"A combination of careful observation, analyzing Manny's movements, using my own strengths to my advantage, and just a little bit of luck," Yinya replied. When Antauri and I didn't say anything, she explained further.

"I knew that Mandarin wasn't going to be an easy opponent. In terms of strength, speed, and overall power, he's the superior monkey; whereas I'm more agile and flexible. I could use that, but I also needed to be close enough to analyze our brother's movements. That's why I went on the offensive early on in the battle. Once I'd observed enough, I switched tactics and spent the rest of the match trying to wear him out by dodging his attacks. My Ghost Blades were a distraction to get Manny to drop his guard so I could get in close and attack at close-range."

I felt my jaw drop. What a strategy! "When did you come up with this…?" I mumbled.

Yinya shrugged. "Ever since my training started, I guess. The truth is I've been studying all of your movements so I could identify what moves you were going to use. For example, um… 'Tauri, can you use your regular move over here, please?" she turned to Antauri who stood up and activated his Ghost Claws. He swiped at the air, a common attack he used in close combat.

Nodding, Yinya pointed to Antauri's stance with her tail. "See? Every time he prepares to strike with that move, 'Tauri assumes a certain stance. If he's going to use his right claw first, he shifts his right leg back. Left leg shifts back is he's going to use his left claw first. If he's going to use both claws simultaneously, he stands on tiptoes," she explained.

Antauri's eyes were as wide as plates. A little embarrassed, he deactivated his claws and placed them behind his back. Then Yinya had me activate my drills to elaborate even further. "Now, Gibson, I've noticed that you sort of roll your shoulders back whenever you're about to use your drills' energy attacks. When you're doing close combat, you keep one drill slightly higher than the other almost like a sword while the other one acts like a hidden dagger, which you could use in case your initial attack doesn't work," she said, her eyes keen and focused.

For once, I was at a loss for words. And, judging by his facial expression, Antauri was too.

"Of course," Yinya blushed, her tail rubbing her head. "I'm no expert and I can never accurately predict each of your moves. I'm just saying that I noticed that you guys moved in certain ways when about to attack and thought I could use that to help me when sparring with one of you guys. Heh… so… yeah, that's pretty much it," she said.

A few minutes of awkward silence passed, Antauri and I unable to form any coherent responses, and Yinya unsure on what to say after she'd just given us quite an overload of information. Finally, she mumbled, "Okay, I'm gonna go play video games with Sparx now… Bye!" before running out of the infirmary.

As soon as she was out, Antauri and I looked at each other before laughing. To think that our youngest member was already capable of predicting our every move. We were going to have to be extra careful the next time we sparred with Yinya, otherwise she'd beat us in record time.

"She never ceases to amaze me," Antauri chuckled.

I nodded, smiling, noticing how my brother's eyes always seemed to shine brighter at the mention of Yinya or whenever she was around. I knew Antauri, and he was usually calm, never as boisterous as Otto or as serious as Mandarin. But whenever he was around Yinya, he was more open and relaxed, his smiles wider and laughter less restrained.

"Yes. With more training, she'll become quite a force to be reckoned with," I remarked.

"Isn't she already?" Antauri asked me, amused, and I had to laugh in agreement.

* * *

Later that day, I was teaching Yinya some new formulas in my laboratory. I watched, amused, as Yinya filled up her worksheet. Her face was etched with pure concentration, her cyan eyes narrowed in determination. Or was it anger?

Finally, she sighed and handed me her worksheet. I checked it, noting that she had managed to grasp the bare bones of my equations yet failed to give the correct final answers.

"It was easy at the beginning. But then when we got to the second set of variables, I got lost," Yinya admitted as I helped her review.

"These things take time to learn, Yinya. Nothing to be ashamed of," I told her, handing her another worksheet.

"What're you gonna teach me next, Gibson?" Yinya asked, looking up at me with the smile of an excited and eager child when presented with a new toy.

"Patience, Yinya. You're always so eager to try something new that you forget the old lessons," I reminded her gently.

"I know. But I can't help it. I want to try everything. Even just once, just to know what it feels like!" Yinya said, shifting her focus back to the equations.

If Yinya had one flaw, it was that she wanted to try a lot of things… even if there were some things she shouldn't try…

While I waited for Yinya to finish answering her worksheet, I pulled out a book on astronomy from one of my lab's shelves. I'd just finished reading a chapter about the star systems surrounding Shuggazoom when Yinya piped up, "You know, 'Tauri and I go stargazing every Friday night. Maybe you'd like to join us?"

Looking up from my book, I saw Yinya standing in front of me, holding her finished worksheet out for me to take.

"That would be nice," I said, taking the worksheet from her. "But I wouldn't want to intrude on what's obviously a very special pastime for you and Antauri, Yinya."

"Oh, I'm sure 'Tauri wouldn't mind. Besides, you're also interested in astronomy, aren't you?" Yinya asked, smiling hopefully.

I was, actually. I'd always been fascinated by the cosmos. Studying the stars and planets scattered around the galaxy through reading them was nice, but to actually see them would be a more enriching experience…

In the end, I decided to take up Yinya's offer and she smiled that bright smile of hers again, reminding me that the stargazing would take place on Friday night, before leaving.

I checked her worksheet and smiled, seeing that – after a little review with my help – she'd gotten a perfect score.

* * *

Come Friday, I found myself sitting on the rooftop with Yinya and Antauri, the former sandwiched between the two of us boys and the latter looking at me with a questioning gaze.

Yinya had been wrong. Antauri _did _mind my intrusion into what was supposed to be his and Yinya's special activity. Often, I would catch him pouting while Yinya focused on the stars. She was completely oblivious as she chatted about the beauty of the stars twinkling above us.

"It looks like Apus and Taurus dominate the skies tonight," she observed, connecting the stars with her tail to form the Bird of Paradise and the Bull twinkling above us.

"Ah, and there's Triangulum just behind Ranger-7," I said, noticing the distinct triangle formation behind Shuggazoom's moon.

"The stars look even better up close rather than mere still images found in your books, don't they, Gibson?" Antauri asked me, an almost challenging look in his eyes.

"Hey, be nice, 'Tauri." Yinya aimed a glare at him, lightly swatting his head with her tail. At Antauri's confused expression, she rolled her eyes. "I saw you pouting earlier. I invited Gibson. I figured he would like to try his hand at being an astronomer."

This time, _I _blushed at Yinya's attempts to defend me. Yinya smiled and patted my shoulder. "Don't mind him, Gibson. I'm really happy to have you here admiring the stars with me," she reassured me.

Antauri merely blushed and bowed his head. He sent me a guilty look, an apology conveyed through his eyes. I gave him a smile and slight nod to let him know that it was all right. Yinya noticed this and grinned, slinging her arms over our shoulders and pulling us close to her. "That's much better," she said.

I laughed and looked up. The minute I really looked at the stars the way Yinya did, I realized that no scientific explanation would be enough to describe the beauty of the cosmos. I remembered what I had told Yinya about the stars the first time she asked me about them – that they were just lifeless balls of luminous gas held together by their own gravity – and wished I could take it back. I'd made the stars sound so boring to her.

But Yinya hadn't taken my explanation to heart. Instead, she looked at the stars and made her own conclusions about them.

And she concluded that the stars are absolutely beautiful.

The night went on and the three of us spent it talking about the mysteries of the cosmos, taking breaks every now and then to just sit in silence and watch the stars twinkle and grace Shuggazoom's skies with their gentle light.

* * *

I don't know how long we sat there, stargazing, but it must have been quite a long time and that it had tired Yinya out. I was in the middle of explaining how a star was formed when I noticed that Yinya had rested her head against Antauri's shoulder and was fast asleep. Poor Antauri, I'd never seen his face so pink in my life.

I gently shook Yinya, receiving a small whine. "Nope, she's out," I chuckled. Antauri carefully drew Yinya into his arms and stood up. Yinya let out a small sigh and nuzzled her face into Antauri's chest, sleeping in total contentment.

It was always a pleasant surprise to see Antauri become more visibly affectionate around others. The smile on his face, gentle and loving, was a smile he reserved for Yinya and only Yinya.

"We should get to bed," Antauri murmured and I nodded, getting down from the rooftop first while he floated to the ground with Yinya in his arms.

Nova was in a deep sleep and didn't wake up when we entered her and Yinya's shared bedroom. Quietly, Antauri carried Yinya over to her bed and tucked her in, making sure she wouldn't get cold. I heard Yinya whimper followed by Antauri whispering, "Sweet dreams, Yinya…" before leaving the room followed by me.

Antauri and I headed to our room. As we entered, I couldn't resist and turned to my brother, "You know, Antauri, I think Yinya might return your affections if you'd just pluck up the courage to ask her out on a date."

If the rest of the team hadn't been asleep, I would have laughed out loud at Antauri's bright red face.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about…" he muttered as he headed to bed. Shaking my head, softly chuckling to myself, I did the same.

* * *

**Present Day (Normal POV)**

"Who'd have thought? Antauri could get jealous of Brainstrain spending time Yinya," Sparx snickered.

"We made up. After that, I didn't go out stargazing with them unless they asked. I knew that they cherished those Friday nights," Gibson said as he finished tightening the last set of strings on the mandolin and gave them a strum.

Chiro looked at the mandolin Gibson held. It was made of dark red wood and looked like it had been obviously well cared for. "Hey, Gibson, where did that instrument come from?" he asked.

"It was a gift from Captain Shuggazoom," said the blue monkey, prompting Sparx to jump in.

"Funny story actually, kid, was that he was fighting this supervillain who used musical instruments as his weapons. The mandolin was something the Captain took as a trophy. I think he'd been planning on giving it to Mandarin as a joke," the team's ace pilot chuckled. "Cause, you know… Mandarin, mandolin…" he mumbled when the rest of the team gave him blank looks.

"We got it," Nova deadpanned.

"Yinya must have been quite a musician," Jinmay said admiringly.

"You should have heard her play. It was like angels coming down from heaven to give a mini concert." Otto smiled wistfully. "Her smile and her laugh weren't the only things that made people happy. Her _music _too," he added, launching into his memory…

* * *

**As you can see from Gibson's chapter, Yinya had the makings of a prodigy. In later chapters, Chiro and Jinmay will soon discover that, had she not gone into stasis, Yinya could very well have been one of the most powerful wielders of the Power Primate. But… we'll get to that bit in later chapters.**

**Otto's chapter could take a while to write since I'll be busy studying for Japanese finals and working on "Jemma Dursley and the Phoenix Soul Reborn." But it's gonna be a really sweet chapter, I promise.**

**In the meantime, read and review. Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.**

**-GuardianDragon98**


	7. 6: Otto

**I'm back with another update! Warning: This chapter is full of sweetness and fluff ;)**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

**Otto**

Well, I really messed up.

I was in a pranking mood and decided to switch Nova's shampoo with pink hair dye before it was her turn to take a bath. Then I'd hide and have a little laugh at the sight of my sister sporting cotton candy pink fur.

What I hadn't expected was for _Mandarin _to have his bath _before _Nova on that day.

While the rest of the team found it funny – even the Alchemist chuckled at the sight of him – Mandarin was not. And it didn't take long for him to figure out which of us did the deed.

"Of all the childish pranks, Otto! Must you be such a child?!" he'd shouted at me before stomping off to the bathroom to try and wash all the hair dye off.

That really hurt, mostly because I knew that he was telling the truth. I'm probably the most childish member of the team. But I can't help it if I want to have a little fun. I know I don't have Sparx's cool personality, Gibson's intelligence, Nova's fierceness, or Antauri's serene sense of calm; the only thing that I have is a knack for fixing gadgets and inventing gizmos as well as the desire to make people laugh.

It's not bad to want to make people laugh, right?

* * *

Anyway that had been one of those rare days where I felt gloomy. Not even being allowed to play outside by the Alchemist could lift my spirits up. On days like this, I found myself confiding in Antauri. Out of all my siblings, he was the one I could go to whenever I had problems. There's just something about him that makes it easy for me to talk to him, unload whatever troubles I have.

We sat on the wooden railing of our jungle home, watching our siblings play down below in the foliage.

"I didn't mean to make Mandarin mad. I just thought it'd be funny. And the prank wasn't even intended for him. I was planning on pranking _Nova_," I admitted, sighing. "…which probably would have been a whole lot worse because of her temper…"

"I'm sure she would have suspected and gone after Sparx first," Antauri joked, the two of us laughing at the mental image of a pink Nova chasing after our pilot.

"Hey, Antauri… you don't think I'm too childish, do you?" I asked, my tail twitching.

Antauri smiled, assuming that lotus position he always does whenever he wants to meditate or levitate. "Not at all, Otto. In fact, your ebullience is one of the many qualities I admire about you," he told me.

"My ebulli-what?" I tilted my head at him, confused.

"Your ebullience. Your joy and exuberance. Being happy all the time, you go with the flow and embrace the uncertainty of what tomorrow may bring." Antauri shut his eyes and took a deep breath. "I wish I can be like you," he admitted.

'_Antauri wants to be like me…? Wow!' _I thought then grinned. "Well, you kind of already are… whenever Yinya's around," I giggled as Antauri's eyes snapped open and he looked at me, a light red blush on his cheeks.

I chuckled. I knew that what I'd just said was true. Whenever Yinya was around, Antauri became less serious, less zen and all that. He smiled more widely and just became much happier and more enthusiastic about things. Sometimes, he even joined Yinya and I in pranking our creator and the rest of our siblings… which always ended with us laughing until our faces turned either bright red like Sparx's or blue like Gibson's because we were having so much fun.

And whenever Yinya made him laugh, Antauri didn't restrain himself and really _laughed_, his deep voice going just a quarter of an octave higher as he let out those big laughs of his. There was no doubt in my mind that Yinya was the sun to Antauri's sky. As long as she was around, my brother stopped holding back and allowed himself to really _feel_. He was always keeping his emotions in check, to not be too expressive as that was what was expected of him. He was going to be second-in-command of the team so, according to the Alchemist and Mandarin, he had to be strong, serious, and have a spirit of steel. In short, he had to be a little more guarded about his feelings which, for me, just sounded dull and depressing.

That's why I was so glad that we had Yinya. She was the only one among the rest of us who could get Antauri to drop down his walls so we could all see that he was as much of a monkey as the rest of us.

Speaking of Yinya…

"That's weird… I don't see Yinya…" I muttered, scanning the jungle underneath us. Antauri, the blush fading from his cheeks, shut his eyes and I knew what he was doing – trying to sense Yinya's Power Primate. Among the seven of us, Antauri, Mandarin, and Yinya were the ones with the deepest connection to the Power Primate.

After about a minute, Antauri opened his eyes and motioned for me to follow him. We jumped from the railing and landed on the ground. While Mandarin (his fur now back to its orange hue) and Gibson discussed strategy for their next game, and Sparx and Nova were racing each other up the giant trees growing in our backyard, Antauri and I trekked through the jungle.

I could hear strains of beautiful music coming from up ahead. Quiet as church mice, Antauri and I peered through the foliage. I grinned upon seeing Yinya sitting under a tree, playing the mandolin Captain Shuggazoom had taken from one of his many mortal foes. He'd wanted to give it to Mandarin, probably as a joke since 'mandolin' more or less rhymed with 'mandarin,' but my eldest brother hadn't wanted it. Yinya, on the other hand, had been fascinated by the instrument and wanted to learn how to play it. So Captain Shuggazoom gave it to her and, a couple of weeks later, gave her a memory disk filled with tutorials on how to play and care for her mandolin.

Yinya had had the mandolin for about a month now but none of us had ever heard her play apart from just plucking a few notes.

On this day, Antauri and I were lucky to hear her first full performance.

Yinya hummed as she played, her mandolin singing out these beautiful clear notes that were alluring, cheerful, and… just a little bit sad. I closed my eyes, my tail swishing side to side in time with her melody. When I opened them again, I found Antauri gazing at Yinya with a look that I could only best describe in one word.

_**Love**_, _which was also something Yinya had a lot of for him and a whole lot of things._

Grinning, I whispered into Antauri's ear, "Let's sneak over there and catch her just as she's about to go for the big finish." Making my brother's dark green eyes glint with mischief.

Staying as quiet as we could, we shimmied up the surrounding trees and leapt from branch to branch until we were in the branches of the very tree Yinya was sitting under.

"Three… Two… One…!" I whispered then Antauri and I swung down the branches and yelled out, "HI!"

"Stars!" Yinya yelped, clutching her mandolin to her chest, her tail standing straight up. Antauri and I both laughed, dangling from the branches by our tails.

Once she'd gotten over her shock, Yinya glared half-heartedly at us. "Otto… 'Tauri…" she sighed, cheeks turning bright pink. "You guys scared me…"

"We're sorry, Yinya. But we couldn't help but hear such a beautiful melody," Antauri said, his cheeks also turning pink. "It was a beautiful song, by the way."

"O-oh you… you think so…? Thanks…" Yinya mumbled, unable to meet my brother's gaze.

"We haven't heard you play before until now." I got down from the tree and sat next to Yinya on her right side, bouncing slightly in place. "Did you compose it yourself?" I asked her.

"Yes… But it's not yet that good…" Yinya's cheeks turned even pinker as she tried to hide the mandolin behind her back.

"We loved it! Can we hear more? _Pleeeeeaaasssseeee_?" I did my best puppy dog expression, clasping my hands in front of me as I begged.

Yinya stared at us, her face practically turning a darker shade of her magenta hue, before smiling shyly and nodded.

Antauri sat next to Yinya on the left as she began to play once more. Hauntingly beautiful music filled our ears. As I listened to Yinya's melody, I couldn't help but think that it was like a lullaby. I could feel myself getting sleepy as the music continued. Glancing at Antauri, I saw him smiling softly at Yinya, his eyes half-closed in contentment. Yinya was smiling too, her gaze never leaving Antauri's as she skillfully plucked her mandolin's strings.

I didn't need to be psychic to hear whatever conversations they were having through their eyes. Whatever silent words were being exchanged in that moment, I knew that they contained love.

* * *

**Present Day (Normal POV)**

Otto had tears in his eyes as he concluded his tale. "I'd give anything to hear Yinya play again… and to see Antauri happy again. When Yinya… Antauri, he… he just wasn't the same," he sniffed, rubbing his eyes.

Gibson, Sparx, and Nova looked at each other somberly. Otto was right. Ever since they lost Yinya, Antauri had changed. While he was still wise, calm, and cared deeply for the team, his smiles no longer reached his eyes, his laughter became more restrained, and he wasn't as expressive as he used to be.

When Yinya had been around, Antauri had been so much… _happier._

And, like Otto, the rest of the Monkey Team would give anything to have their second-in-command be happy again.

Chiro and Jinmay looked at the monkeys, sadness in their eyes. Then Chiro glanced at Sparx. The red monkey smiled sadly, knowing that it was his turn to share a precious memory of their sweet little sister.

"It wasn't just music she was good at. Remember when the seven of us used to play tag?" At Gibson, Nova, and Otto's nods, he chuckled. "Yinya was a master at that game…"

* * *

**If you're wondering what melody Yinya plays on her mandolin, listen to "Isabella's Lullaby (Mandolin Version)" on YouTube.**

**Read and review! Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!**

**-GuardianDragon98**


	8. 7: Sparx

**Hi everybody. Been a while. I've started doing my internship so I might not always be able to churn out new chapters for my stories every week. I gotta prioritize after all. But on days when I don't need to do much intern-related work, I'm balancing conceptualizing my own stories with writing my fanfiction. Thanks for being so patient with me.**

**On with the story!**

**NOTE: I DO NOT OWN SRMTHFG! All rights go to Disney and Ciro Nieli.**

* * *

**Chapter 7**

**Sparx**

'_Remain one step ahead of all the others. Hide if you have to. Just don't get caught…' _I reminded myself as I ran through the jungle. We were playing tag, the best game to play in our home (besides hide and seek), and I was determined to outlast everyone.

With Yinya being "It," I was gonna need all the luck I can get. She wasn't just fast. She was a master tag strategist. It certainly didn't help the rest of my siblings that she's spent her entire life, which has been barely a year, watching our every move. She could almost accurately predict where any of us were gonna run or how we would react in playing tag, which meant that we had to outsmart her in every game.

The rules were simple: set a time limit of 20 minutes and outlast everyone by not getting caught by whoever was "It." Whoever evaded getting caught once 20 minutes had passed was the winner. We all had timers strapped to our wrists that would beep once the time was up.

I ran up to a nearby tree and scaled it as fast as I could. Once I'd gotten settled on a sturdy branch, I looked out and activated my optics, magnifying my field of vision so I could see how the game was progressing.

I saw Nova hammering away at boulders to create roadblocks in one section of the jungle before continuing on her way.

Out by the waterfall, Gibson was trying to evade pursuit by staying underwater with nothing but a slim reed to keep him breathing. I had to admit, pretty smart of him.

Mandarin was racing through the trees with Antauri right behind him. Those two were usually the ones who lasted the longest in the game.

As for Otto, the poor guy had gotten distracted by Yinya's old leaf trick again. I chuckled as Yinya emerged from a nearby bush and tackled Otto in a hug, my green brother yelping. Yinya gathered the rest of the leaves – leaves that had shapes cut out of them to grab our second youngest sibling's interest – and handed them to Otto who was happy to stay and admire them. Then she looked up, tested the wind direction, and took off running.

High up in the safety of my perch, I watched my little sister find the others.

Nova put up a fight, smashing more boulders up as she ran, but Yinya leaped from one rock to another before catching up to her. Four monkeys left.

Next to be found was Gibson, who made the mistake of coming up to get some more air just as Yinya arrived at the waterfall. Three monkeys left.

"Maybe I should find a new spot…" I muttered to myself as I saw Yinya head off in the direction of my area. Climbing down, I tried a new tactic – running backward. That way, when Yinya came here, she'd look at my footprints and follow them in the wrong direction. I snickered, feeling quite pleased with myself before I ended up running backward over a cliff!

"MONKEY DOODLE!" I cursed as I tumbled down, getting dents all over my helmet, before landing in a heap on the jungle floor. I lay there, my head spinning, before hearing Yinya's panicked voice calling out.

"Sparx! Sparx! SPRX-77!"

'_Looks like I lose…' _I thought as Yinya's face peered over the cliff.

"Oh, stars… Hang on, Sparx!" Yinya called out before levitating down to get me. She brought me straight to the Alchemist for repairs. Gibson, Otto, and Nova, by then, were back at the house.

"Tried to outsmart her?" Gibson asked me once I came out of the lab, holding an ice pack to my head.

"Shut up," I muttered before our timers went off.

_BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_

"That's the time. Who do you think won?" Otto piped up.

"Well, with Mandarin and Antauri the only ones left…" Nova smiled and shook her head. "Mandarin probably got cocky and was caught next. That leaves Antauri," she said.

We chuckled. "As always, it's a showdown between Antauri and Yinya," Gibson remarked.

"Those two are always the last ones left whenever we play tag," Otto added.

I imagine Antauri running through the jungle. He looks to the side and smiles upon seeing Yinya running alongside him. Yinya catches his eye and smiles. Antauri speeds up, leaping over a cliff and landing on the other side. That means Yinya's got a narrow window of time to find her way around to catch him…

Just when I'm about to think of another scene, Antauri, Mandarin, and Yinya come back. Judging by the look of utter defeat on Antauri and Mandarin's faces, it looks like Yinya won again.

"I was so close…" Antauri groaned, covering his face in shame.

"That's what you get for worrying too much about Yinya's safety." Mandarin chuckled at our confused expressions. "Yinya pretended to trip and fall. She lured Antauri out of his hiding space," he explained.

"Heehee… Sorry, 'Tauri," Yinya teased, shrieking with laughter when Antauri started chasing her around.

"How about you?" I raised an eyebrow at Mandarin, who blushed.

"She caught me by surprise. One minute, I was walking under a tree. Next, I heard a rustle then, all of a sudden, Yinya came crashing down on top of me." He chuckled, watching our little sister get caught by Antauri. "She's a cunning one, isn't she?" he asked us.

Gibson, Nova, Otto, and I nodded in agreement, smiling as we watched Antauri and Yinya get into a tickle fight, the two of them laughing like hyenas all hopped up on sugar.

It was kind of adorable, really.

* * *

**Present Day (Normal POV)**

"Remind me never to play tag with you guys," Chiro joked, the Monkey Team and Jinmay laughing.

Sparx crossed his arms behind his head, leaning back against Yinya's tube. "Yep, when it comes to tag, we really played to win, _especially _when Yinya was "It." But no matter how hard we tried, we just couldn't beat her," he told Chiro and Jinmay.

Chiro looked at Yinya's slumbering form. _'She was fast, could strategize, and had a deep connection to the Power Primate… She could have been one of the most powerful members of the team. Maybe even as powerful as Mandarin and Antauri…' _he thought in admiration.

As if he could read Chiro's mind, Gibson nodded. "She may have been the youngest of us all, but I don't doubt that Yinya could very well have grown to become one of our strongest members… had she not gone into stasis," he said sadly.

"Isn't there a way to wake her up?" asked Jinmay, her green eyes looking up at Yinya's closed cyan eyes.

"I'm afraid that there isn't a way to wake her up… Well, fully, that is. We _could _try and activate her, but she won't be Yinya. She'll just be a shell…" murmured Nova.

"Without her soul, she's nothing but a cyborg monkey with no personality." Sparx sighed and clenched his fist. "If we could just get Antauri to tell us what happened on that day… He must have seen _something_," he groused.

"You know he can't even bear to say Yinya's name, Sparx. If we ask Antauri about what happened on September 21st, how much worse do you think he'll feel?" Otto asked rhetorically, Sparx looking down at his feet in shame.

The team lapsed into silence at that point. The only sound that could be heard was the faint bubbling of the liquid inside Yinya's tube. Chiro placed his hand on the glass, his blue eyes peering into the magenta fluid.

How could a soul be lost? Was it like his experience when Antauri died and his soul fused with his? Could Yinya's soul possibly have been transferred to a host? If so, where was she? And could she even be brought back to her original body?

The strange sensation he had felt ever since the discovery of Yinya's room was getting stronger. It felt as if someone was tugging at the Power Primate inside him.

Closing his eyes, Chiro worked on sensing the team's Power Primate. Antauri had taught him the skill of sensing his teammates' Power Primate during the war, after hours of intense meditation. In his mind's eye, he could see the Power Primate manifest as a soft green glow combined with other colors in the outlines of his friends' auras. He saw Jinmay's bright pink aura with a faint layer of green light on top. He could see the Monkey Team's Power Primate melded with their auras. Sparx's red, Otto's green that was a darker shade than that of the Power Primate's which was close to a bright emerald hue, Gibson's blue, Nova's yellow…

Then he saw it.

Right in the center, surrounded by all six of them, was the unmistakable silhouette of a robot monkey. Its aura was faint, along with the glow of the Power Primate around it, but Chiro could make out the color.

It was magenta.

* * *

**Dun, dun, duuuuuunnnn! **

**I took inspiration for the Monkey Team's tag game from Episode 1 of "The Promised Neverland." If you guys have watched it, let me know if you found the scene where I got inspiration for this chapter ;)**

**Read and review! Those two things make me very happy.**

**-GuardianDragon98**


	9. 8: Yinya and Chiro

**Shifting back to Chiro and Yinya's POVs in this chapter. Enjoy!**

**NOTE: I DO NOT OWN SRMTHFG!**

* * *

**Chapter 8**

**Yinya**

For once, I'm glad no one can see me because I've just spent the last hour crying my eyes out. I can't help it. Hearing my sister and brothers share their most treasured memories of me, I can't help but think back to all of those happy times. Then I see my siblings close to tears and wish that I hadn't been so foolish on that day…

If I hadn't been so overconfident, I would still be with my family… and Antauri wouldn't have to live with the guilt and anguish over what happened all those years ago.

Chiro is standing in front of my tube, his eyes closed. Suddenly, his eyes open and it's as if he's looking at me. For a minute, I think he's just lost in thought. Then I see his eyes narrow and feel a small tug within me, and I realize that he might be really _looking _at me with the help of the Power Primate.

"Chiro…?" I whisper, reaching out to touch him, before hearing Antauri's voice, transmitted from the Hyperforce badge on Chiro's sweater.

"I'm finished with my patrol. I'm coming in." I sigh dreamily, my heart doing a happy dance upon hearing that deep velvet voice after so long.

"We gotta get out of here!" Otto yelps, already running out of the room.

Chiro opens his mouth to say something but he and Jinmay are quickly herded out of my chamber. I see Chiro take one last look at my tube before the room is sealed up again. I float over to the wall sealing up my room inside the Super Robot, heedless of the heavy feeling settling over me. Tears spill over my cheeks as I sink to the floor, sobbing quietly even though nobody can hear me.

A portion of Gibson's story comes back to me.

"_If Yinya had one flaw, it was that she wanted to try a lot of things… even if there were some things she shouldn't try…"_

'_Well, Gibson, you were right. I wish I had listened to you. But, nope! I didn't heed your advice, nor Antauri's. And now I have to live with the consequences of my mistake…' _I think miserably as I sit there, wondering if I'll ever see Chiro, Jinmay, or my siblings again.

* * *

**Chiro**

'_Yinya's still here. Her soul, I-I __**saw **__it! She's not gone! She's still here!' _I think as the day goes on. I train with the team, head out to get Hover Burgers with Jinmay, even take down a few Formless wandering the streets at night, but I still can't get her image out of my head.

The minute I saw her magenta-hued aura, barely a flicker in the room I found her body in, I realized why I'd been feeling like someone's been watching me ever since I found her. Yinya's soul isn't gone. It's just been hanging out of her body this whole time!

I want to tell the team but I know that it won't be enough to convince them. I have to _show _them that their sister's soul is still existing… but how?

The idea comes to me as I get ready for bed. I remember _The Grimoire of Necrodeus _that Gibson keeps in his room. If there's a spell in there that can enable us to see ghosts, maybe it'll work on Yinya and we'll be able to see her! Just as I'm about to leap out of bed to go see Gibson, my brain points out to me, _'Gibson will want you to explain why you need the book in the first place. What are you going to say? That Yinya's soul hadn't gone to the afterlife and, instead, has been hanging around in the Super Robot like a ghost? Would he even believe you?'_

Facepalming myself, I pace around the room, thinking. Suddenly, another idea comes to me.

I was able to see Yinya when I decided to use the Power Primate. Maybe I can try again and get her to do the same thing!

Barefoot and in my pajamas, I crept back to the Robot's main room and pry off the wall panel hiding Yinya from the rest of the world. Sealing myself in, I wait until my eyes adjust to the dark.

"I know you're in here, Yinya…" I call out softly as I assume the lotus position like Antauri taught me. "And I want to help you. But you have to help me, too."

Closing my eyes, I call out to the Power Primate and allow it to combine with my consciousness. _'Help me find Yinya. Help me see her,' _I command and I feel a slight stirring in my gut accompanied by a soft warmth filling my chest, like a little piece of the sun had bloomed in my heart.

Then I feel it – a presence of a lost monkey reaching out to me.

"_Chiro?"_

I open my eyes… and scream, because Yinya's ghostly form is hovering right in front of me and, frankly, seeing a pair of cyan eyes staring at you in the darkness can freak a guy out.

"Ahhhhh!" I scream, mentally kicking myself because it's only a matter of time until the team comes down to check things out.

"Aaaaahhhhh!" Yinya screams right back, backpedaling, with her arms flailing like windmills, away from me.

I scream again because I've already entered freak out mode and can't stop.

"Wait, why are you screaming? I thought you wanted to help me!" Yinya exclaims, calming down.

I calm down as well now that I've gotten a good look at her. She looks just like the monkey currently floating in the tube… except she's mostly transparent, exactly like a ghost. "Sorry. I didn't think it would work at first…" I mumble sheepishly as she floats over to me. She reaches out with her right hand and it goes through my chest. But instead of feeling cold, I feel warm. Huh, maybe it's because she's not totally dead or maybe because of the Power Primate…

"So you can see me?" Yinya blinks owlishly at me.

I nod.

Yinya smiles the biggest smile I've ever seen and she starts flying around the room, giggling and cheering. "Oh, stars, at last! Someone finally _sees_ me!" she exclaims before flying around my head in giddy circles. "You have _no idea _how happy I was when you and Jinmay found me! It's just been so long since I've had another living being with me in the same space! Thank you!" she tries to hug me, only to pass right through me.

I chuckle, glad to finally meet the seventh member of the Monkey Team. The pictures I saw will never compare to the real thing. Yinya really _does _have a bright smile.

"I guess I don't have to introduce myself then?" I ask rhetorically.

"Oh no, you must. It's common courtesy for two beings who have seen each other for the first time to introduce themselves to one another." Yinya grins and playfully curtsies. "YNYA11. But you can call me Yinya or Yin, whichever you prefer," she says grandly.

"Chiro." I cordially bow to her and smile. My gaze softens as I look at Yinya's body, still stuck in stasis. "Were you listening to the others earlier? When they told me and Jinmay about you?" I ask.

Yinya's smile falters as she floats down to stand on the floor. "Yeah… I have to say, their stories made me tear up. I've been trapped in here for so long, I was afraid that I was going to forget them…" she sighs, going over to her tube. I watch her phase through the glass then come out on the other side, looking defeated. "Again… fail."

"What happened to you, Yinya?" I cock my head to the side.

Yinya looks at me, biting her lip as her tail swishes rapidly from side to side. Folding her arms, she sighs, "I made a mistake, Chiro. A big one…"

Her smile vanishes and her eyes lose their happy glow. "And Antauri's blamed himself ever since," she adds.

'_So Antauri __**was **__there during the incident…' _I think as I scoot over to her. "Can you tell me more about it?" I ask hopefully.

Yinya manages to crack a smile. "Let me answer your question with a question of my own then." She sits in the lotus position and levitates off the ground until we're eye-to-eye.

"Have you ever heard of _astral projection_?"

* * *

**This is more of a filler chapter, but, now, you guys finally have a hint about what really happened to Yinya. Next chapter's going to be in her POV, and it'll **_**finally **_**give the full story. **

**Stay tuned! Read and review whenever and whatever you want!**

**-GuardianDragon98**


	10. 9: Yinya

**I'm back! My apologies for being MIA in this story for a while. Well, we're finally getting into it – the full story of how Yinya ended up in stasis.**

**Before I continue, who do you think would make a good voice for Yinya? I'm thinking of Brenda Song because she's recently started working on the newest Disney Channel series, **_**Amphibia. **_**Brenda's voice has this energetic quality to her, which I think would match with Yinya's bubbly personality.**

**If you have any other suggestions, feel free to put them in the reviews and tell me why. On with the story!**

**NOTE: I DO NOT OWN SRMTHFG!**

* * *

**Chapter 9**

**Yinya**

The Verron Mystics called it a way to travel through the universe without having to subject the physical body to any form of strain. A mystical out of body experience that would enable the traveler to become one with the spiritual world and reach a higher form of consciousness.

_Astral projection._

I listened in rapt attention as my teacher, Master Yi, explained the concept of astral projection while using the Power Primate to make illusions depicting the process. Beside me, Antauri listened as well, his olive green eyes wide in awe. Mandarin, sitting on the other side of the room, had a tiny frown on his face as Master Yi spoke.

"Long ago, other Verron Mystics and anyone highly attuned to the Power Primate were able to separate their spiritual forms from their physical bodies to explore the immense vastness of the cosmos. Nowadays, the idea of astral projection is a pipe dream," Master Yi concluded the lecture, waving her hand to make the illusions disappear.

'_A way to travel the cosmos without ever getting tired. Something that only those highly attuned to the Power Primate can do… amazing…' _I thought.

While Antauri, Mandarin, and the other students began filing out, I stayed behind. I went over to Master Yi as she was tidying up. "Hello, Yinya. Is there something you need?" she asked, stooping down to meet my gaze. Although I couldn't see her face, her tone was warm and inviting. I could almost imagine her smiling behind her mask.

"Has anyone tried astral projecting recently, Master Yi?" I asked, blinking curiously up at her.

Master Yi put a finger to her temple. "Well… there was an attempt 50 years ago. However, the Mystics who tried only managed to enter into a deep state of meditation," she replied.

"Entering a deep state of meditation is part of the process, though, right?" I titled my head to the side.

"Yes, but…" Master Yi looked at me, her hands clasping together in front of her. "Yinya, why are you so curious about astral projection?" she asked.

"Because I wanna try it!" I said brightly. I had a strong link to the Power Primate and I've often been told by Master Yi and the other masters that I was really good at entering a meditative state of mind. If I could learn astral projection, I'll be able to explore the universe and unlock its secrets freely.

Father rarely let me and my siblings go out of the Savage Lands, for fear that we would be kidnapped. Heck, even when we visited Mr. Clayton in Shuggazoom, we were restricted to staying inside his manor. The people of Shuggazoom weren't ready to see us, Father had told us. And people often became afraid of things they couldn't understand. We were talking cybernetic monkeys so… yeah, they'd be afraid of us.

If I could astral project, I could go around without risking getting attacked because any bullets or projectiles would just go through me like nothing.

Master Yi regarded me with what looked like apprehension. Then she sighed and said, "I'm afraid it isn't possible, Yinya. Not only is the process exceedingly complicated, but it can also be dangerous."

"But if it was done, that'll make it all the more worth it, right?" I balanced on my heels, my curiosity and eagerness getting stronger.

Then Master Yi cupped my face in her hands, something she usually did to me whenever she wanted me to listen well, and I froze. "Yinya, there are some things in this universe that are not worth trying," she told me, her tone leaving no room for nonsense.

I nodded meekly, looking down at my feet. Master Yi sighed and gently patted my head. "You are a very curious child, Yinya. And that is mostly a good thing. Without curiosity, there would be no discoveries to be made. But promise me that you will not let your curiosity get the best of you," she implored.

"I promise, Master Yi," I pledged and, again, I imagined Master Yi smiling as she fondly rubbed my head.

Bowing, I left the classroom to catch up with Antauri and Mandarin. But, try as I might, I couldn't get astral projection out of my head.

To leave one's body to travel the universe without subjecting one's self to physical trauma…

That was something I definitely wanted to try.

* * *

Chiro's eyebrows furrow. "Let me guess. You still wanted to try?" he asks me.

Sheepish, I rub the back of my head. "In hindsight, I really should have listened to not just Master Yi, but also Gibson." I look down at my mostly transparent hands. "He was right, by the way. In mentioning my fatal flaw in his story earlier. I've always been so curious about anything and everything, and I wanted to try everything… even if it landed me in trouble, which it did," I sigh.

Chiro smiles sympathetically at me. "Curiosity killed the cat," he jokes and I laugh, "Or in my case, curiosity forced the monkey's soul out of her body and rendered her virtually a vegetable."

For a moment, there's nothing but silence between us. Then Chiro slightly raises his hand and asks, "How was Antauri involved with your attempts at astral projection?"

I smile wistfully. "I asked him to be my anchor," I reply. At Chiro's confused face, I proceed to tell the next part of my story.

* * *

"What are you doing?"

I yelped and threw my arms up, sending the book I'd been studying flying up into the air and landing onto the stack of books piled up on my desk… which ended up toppling over.

"Starships…" I cursed then turned around, smiling sheepishly as I saw Mandarin standing in the doorway to my room. My room looked like a tornado had blown through it. I'd been so immersed in my studies, pretty much everything else (except for eating and spending time with Antauri and Mandarin) was of less importance.

It had been about a week since I learned about astral projection in Master Yi's class, and I still wanted to try it. For the past week, I'd borrowed every book and every scroll about it to study. Theory, first-hand accounts, detailed descriptions and illuminations depicting the process, I devoured every source of information and made my own notes. I was determined to astral project, no matter what.

"Hey, 'Tauri. Hi, Manny. Just studying," I said before levitating my books back into a neat stack. Mandarin raised an eyebrow and levitated one of the books towards him. He opened the book and perused a couple of pages before looking at me suspiciously. Antauri, standing slightly behind him, looked at the pages as well, a puzzled look on his face.

"A discourse on astral projection dated nearly a thousand years prior to the formalization of the Verron Mystics' program of studies…" Mandarin sighed and levitated the book back to me. "Yinya, don't tell me you're still trying to learn how to astral project?"

"…No…" I looked up at my room's ceiling, tail twitching.

"Yinya, we know you're lying," Antauri smirked. He was usually the first to out me when I was caught lying.

I gave him a playful glare before looking at Mandarin's stern face. "Ugh, okay, _yes_. I'm still trying to figure out how to astral project," I admitted.

Mandarin sighed, running a hand through his fur. "Didn't you listen to Master Yi? It's a long-lost art and could even have dangerous consequences," he reprimanded me.

"Well, that makes it all the more exciting!" I stood beside my brother and slung an arm over his shoulder. "Come on, Manny, just think of it! Exploring the universe without ever getting physically tired. We could even go out and explore Shuggazoom, and Father wouldn't even know because he'll think we're just meditating!" I cajoled him.

Scowling, Mandarin shook me off. "I want no part of this! You are dealing with things that should not even be dealt with!" he snapped and left.

"Sour orange," I muttered, tucking the book he'd returned under my arm.

"Perhaps it would be wise to heed his words, Yinya," Antauri told me gently, sitting at the edge of my bed. "The Verron Mystics haven't tried astral projection for years. They probably had a good reason not to."

"Yes, yes, it's exceedingly complicated _and _could have repercussions. But!" I faced him, grinning confidently. "If _I _could do it, then maybe it'll get them to try again. Imagine the discoveries, the possibilities! Astral projection… it just sounds like a beautiful art form that doesn't deserve to be left to ancient history, Tauri. Don't you think it'll be best to bring it back so it can be preserved?" I asked him earnestly.

"You also want to try astral projecting to prank our brothers, don't you?" Antauri asked, a knowing smile on his face.

I giggled, my tail rubbing my head. "Weeeeeeell… maybe a little. I mean, can you _imagine _the look on Sparx and Otto's faces when I suddenly pop out of nowhere like a ghost?" I asked, making Antauri chuckle.

"I suppose that would be entertaining…" Then Antauri's smile faded and he folded his arms across his chest. "However, I still think what you're suggesting is dangerous, Yinya," he said sternly.

"Really? Even you, 'Tauri?" I asked, incredulous.

"It's dangerous. You could get into trouble," Antauri argued.

"Not if I have an anchor." At Antauri's puzzled frown, I grabbed a scroll and unfurled it. Inscribed on the ancient manuscript was a detailed illustration of somebody astral projecting. Above the person's physical body was his astral body, painted a soft glowing white. Next to him, another person was pulling at a silver thread connected to the astral body.

"It says here that another person must be with the one astral projecting as the anchor. He's to help guide the person's astral body back from the spiritual plane back to the physical body," I explained then smiled hopefully at Antauri.

"I trust you more than anybody else, 'Tauri. If anyone's gonna be my anchor, I want it to be you."

For a minute, Antauri stared at me, his expression unreadable. Finally, he sighed and uncrossed his arms. "Yinya, I'm sorry… but this is too risky. Please, just… put all of this astral projection aside," he told me firmly.

I didn't say anything.

Up until now, Antauri had always supported me in whatever I decided to do. To not have his support in this endeavor… it really hurt.

My silence unnerved Antauri and he gently placed a hand on my shoulder. "Yinya, please understand…" he said before I cut him off.

"I should get to cleaning my room. I'll see you and Mandarin later, _Antauri_," I said in the most emotionless tone I could muster. Turning my back to him, I started putting my room in order. I could feel Antauri's eyes. I knew he was also feeling hurt. I never called him by name unless I was upset with him.

After a few minutes, Antauri gave a defeated sigh and left my room. I continued cleaning my room in silence, ignoring the pain gnawing at my chest. Arranging all of my materials on astral projection, I felt a little uneasy.

Master Yi, Mandarin, even Antauri…

Were they right? Was I playing with fire in attempting to try something that hadn't been tried for thousands of years?

* * *

"Whoa… you and Antauri actually had a fight?" Chiro blinks his opal blue eyes at me. "I didn't think you two would ever fight about anything," he remarks.

"Oh, 'Tauri and I had other squabbles before that. But that one had to be our worst. I wouldn't talk to him that much for a while," I reply, smiling sadly. "Luckily, we had that argument about two weeks before my birthday. If my birthday had been on a later date, we wouldn't have made up for a _long_ time."

* * *

'_My first birthday away from home…' _I gazed out the window, my tail drooping. Outside, Mandarin was refereeing a ball game with the younger novices. I'd already received my birthday present from him – a book on Verron Philosophy that would take _**97 YEARS **_to read. I was only on the twentieth page of the book, which seemed to have no end, and I was already getting bored.

Antauri was nowhere to be found. I hadn't seen much of him since he shut down my idea of astral projecting with him.

Everyone had already greeted me, "Happy Birthday!" and Master Yi had given me a special sweet bun she had made from a recipe that had been in her family for seven generations… but I didn't feel happy. I was homesick. Whenever one of us had a birthday, Father would let us play outside for as long as we wanted. Mr. Clayton would come visit with all sorts of cool presents and he and Father would cook all of our favorites. The day would then end with all seven of us helping bake the birthday cake and eating it. Here on Koraladol, I had none of these things.

'_I wanna go home…' _I thought miserably, putting a bookmark in Mandarin's gift and closing it.

"Sister Yinya?"

"Master Xan!" I jumped to attention and bowed to the head of the Verron Mystics.

Master Xan bowed back. "What troubles you, Sister Yinya? I thought you'd be joyous on your birthday?" he inquired.

"I, um…" Compared to Master Yi, I felt quite shy around Master Xan. He was just so… stoic, almost detached from all of us. "I… just miss my family, Master Xan," I mumbled.

"It is normal to long for the company of family when separated from them. Do not fret, Yinya. You will see them again when you've graduated from training," Master Xan reassured me, and I managed to smile a little.

"Ah, before I forget. Antauri is looking for you. He's out in the crystal gardens."

I perked up, bowing to Master Xan, before racing out to find Antauri. The crystal gardens were my favorite place in all of Koraladol. Trees and flowers made of pure crystal sprouted from the ground, sparkling in the sun. It was like a bejeweled wonderland.

I found Antauri sitting under a crystal palm tree that was my personal favorite. It had beautiful violet palm leaves that gave ample shade on hot days, making it a great tree to study, picnic or have a nap under.

Antauri saw me coming and stood up, his hands behind his back. As I came to a stop in front of him, I felt my cheeks warm up. We hadn't spoken to each other that much, apart from a few greetings and questions on which chapter to study for our exams, and, now, here we were.

"So…" We both said at the same time and blushed. "Uh, I…" Again. This time we couldn't help but smile. "You go first." We started laughing. This was just too ridiculous!

"I'm sorry for being such a mega jerk, 'Tauri…" I apologized, my eyes downcast.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Yinya," said Antauri, smiling gently. "Though, I have to admit. Giving me the cold shoulder was a jerky move."

"Okay, no longer feeling remorseful," I snickered, giving him a playful shove. I noticed that Antauri kept his hands behind his back even as he struggled to keep his balance. "Whatcha' hiding, 'Tauri?"

"Hold out your hands and close your eyes," Antauri instructed me, a slight blush on his cheeks.

I did as I was told, but slightly opened one eye.

"No peeking."

'_Well, I can always use…'_

"No using the Power Primate either."

"Okay, okay." I shrugged and waited. I felt something being placed in my hands. Something cool and smooth, spherical…

"You can open your eyes now, Yinya."

I did and gasped. Cradled in my hands were two crystal pendants joined together to form the yin and yang symbol. The yin half was made of the shiniest piece of black quartz I had ever seen with a single chip of white quartzite embedded in it. The yang half was made of the purest quartzite with a small dot of black quartz. Simply beautiful, that was all I could think of as I gazed at them.

"They're beautiful…" I breathed out then looked up at Antauri. "You made these?"

"Carved the crystals with my own claws," Antauri said with a hint of pride in his voice, activating his Ghost Claws for a second to give emphasis. He blushed, his tail swishing from side to side. "D-do you like them?" he managed to ask me before I embraced him tightly.

"I _love _them! Best birthday present, _ever_!" I cheered.

Antauri chuckled softly, gently patting my head. "Happy Birthday, Yinya," whispered. I felt my cheeks burn. My heart was racing. What was going on with me?

Come to think of it… I'd been feeling like this for a long time… specifically around… Antauri…

'_Holy stars!' _It was as if a lightbulb had turned on in my brain as Antauri and I let go of each other. I gently pulled the pendants apart and put the one with the yin half on. Then, with a shy smile, I handed Antauri the yang one.

"Yinya, I-I made them for you. You can wear both of them or…" Antauri's cheeks were practically pink as he regarded the pendant with confusion. "You can… give them to someone you like…" he mumbled, his eyes downcast.

Smiling gently, I pressed the yang pendant into his hands. "If you say that the other half is for someone I like, then that someone must be my other half. The yang to my yin. Who else would it be but you?" I asked softly.

"Yinya…" By this time, Antauri's whole face had turned the color of cotton candy.

Leaning forward, I whispered, "I wanna give you something, too. Sort of a cross between an apology for acting like a jerk and as a thank you… but, first, you gotta close your eyes."

Antauri blinked at me, flustered, for a few minutes, then did as he was told. "No using the Power Primate either," I giggled. Once I was sure that Antauri had his eyes closed and that he wasn't using the Power Primate, I went for it.

I brushed my lips against Antauri's, and I felt my heart dancing giddily in my chest as my tail wagged at a pace so fast that would make a helicopter jealous. I felt Antauri stiffen for a second before he started kissing me back, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me closer to him.

My heart was beating so hard, I wondered if Antauri could feel it beating through his soft black fur. His lips were soft and warm, making me melt into him. We broke the kiss a few seconds later, breathless. I was smiling so much that I was sure that my cheeks were gonna hurt the next day. Antauri had the same smile on his face and, judging by how his eyes were glowing like spotlights, he was as happy as I was.

"Does this… mean we're…?" He mumbled, looking dazed, happy, and unsure all at once.

"Boyfriend and girlfriend? I guess so…" I giggled. "Only if you want to, that is," I added hastily. We both knew that we were from different parents (our Father had told us early on that we all came from different monkey parents), but having been raised as siblings… things would probably be awkward when 'Tauri and I came home and announced that we were dating.

"I-I'd like that…" Antauri stammered out, blushing. I laughed and embraced him, happier than mere words could express. Once he put the yang pendant on, we joined our halves together. "Now no matter how far apart we are, we'll never be truly apart," I told him.

"Right." Antauri nodded as he clasped my hand in his. "I have one more surprise for you," he said.

I raised an eyebrow, then both eyebrows as Antauri gave me my final birthday surprise.

"I will help you with your attempts to astral project, but only _once. _If our first attempt at astral projection doesn't work, we're done. Okay?"

I jumped up, flew through the air and did a triple somersault then landed on the ground. "Thank you, 'Tauri!" I squealed.

"It will take time, though. We have to make sure that we've studied everything before we can even make an attempt," Antauri reminded me before yelping as I tackled him in a hug.

"You're the best boyfriend in the whole world!" I kissed him again, and it was so cute seeing his tail stand straight up then wag like a puppy's.

* * *

Antauri and I stayed in the crystal gardens the whole afternoon, talking about our plans to astral project and, sometimes, the two of us were content to just sit under the trees in silence, enjoying each other's company. I smiled at Antauri, resting my head against his shoulder as we relaxed. He stiffened up a bit before relaxing, smiling softly at me. We were both new to this whole relationship thing, but I was sure we would figure it out.

When we returned to the temple, Mandarin was waiting for us with an expectant smile on his face. The moment he saw us holding hands, he turned on his communicator and announced, "You owe me now, Sparx! They finally stopped being oblivious!" before a holographic screen emanated from his eyes, showing Father and all of our siblings clustered together around a birthday cake.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, YINYA!" they chorused, Otto blowing on a party horn.

"You guys…" I gushed before realizing what Mandarin had just said. "Wait, what?"

Mandarin grinned. "Sparx and I made a bet. Ha! You owe me a hundred bucks, brother! I _told _you Antauri would confess his feelings on Yinya's birthday and not the day before!" he shouted in triumph, Sparx sending him a half-hearted glare.

"Mandarin!" Poor 'Tauri pulled his Verron Mystic robe's hood over his head, hiding his bright red face.

I blushed bright red as well then shyly looked up at Father, who smiled calmly. "It's alright, Yinya. I approve of your relationship. But don't forget to stay focused on your studies," he said, smiling.

"And no going to third base!" Sparx added cheekily, earning a smack from Nova.

"Third base?" I looked at Mandarin, who went pink and avoided my gaze. Antauri merely whimpered and tried to pull his hood completely over his face, which was practically glowing like a lava lamp.

"You'll learn when you're older, Yinya," Gibson chuckled, rubbing the back of his head, making me pout. My family sometimes kept some important bits of knowledge away from me because I was the youngest. It was frustrating, to be honest.

Nova came to the rescue before I could ask any more questions. "We're sorry we can't be there with you for your birthday, Yinya. But when you, Mandarin, and Antauri return, we're gonna throw you three the biggest party ever," she promised.

"Thanks, nee-chan. By the way, look what 'Tauri made me! Isn't it pretty?" I showed them all the pendant, earning a few "ooh's" and "ahh's" from my family.

"I know you will treat Yinya with complete respect, Antauri. I trust you," Father told Antauri who nodded seriously, a blush still on his cheeks.

"We'll be okay, Father," I said, holding Antauri's hand while thinking that while it was kind of sad that my family couldn't be on Koraladol to celebrate my birthday with me, at least I had Mandarin and 'Tauri.

* * *

Chiro shows me my pendant and I smile. "I haven't seen that in ages," I sigh, wishing I can hold it.

"Antauri misses you, Yinya. Yesterday… on September 21st… he was really depressed. According to the team, he always gets depressed on that date." His eyes widen. "Was September 21st…?" he asks and I nod.

"Yes… September 21st… That was the day I tried to astral project…"

* * *

We spent over a month researching, preparing. As soon as we figured out the theory, Antauri and I meditated for hours, psyching ourselves up for the real thing. Astral projection, as it turned out, was more than just being able to enter a deep state of meditation. One had to be attuned to the rhythms of the soul, become hyper-aware of it being separate from the physical body. Not just that, the anchor had to be attuned with the other's soul through the Power Primate. Which wasn't a problem. Antauri and I, for some reason, had a strong spiritual connection. No matter how far apart we were, we could always sense each other's presence.

We kept our activities a secret, especially from Mandarin, Master Yi, and Master Xan, meditating in the wee hours and far from prying eyes.

Finally, on September 21st, we were ready.

"See you on the other side." I winked, assuming the lotus position in my room.

Antauri sat across from me, a worried look on his face. "At the first sign of trouble, we stop. Alright, Yinya?" he reminded me.

"Nothing's going to go wrong, 'Tauri. You're my anchor, after all," I told him, smiling reassuringly.

Antauri smiled back and assumed a meditative stance. Mirroring him, I got into the zone. I focused on honing my spirit, visualizing an astral version of myself separating from my body.

After what seemed like forever, I felt something shift inside of myself. It was as if an invisible string had yanked me out of my body and, for a moment, I was without any of my five senses. After a moment of feeling nothing, I opened my eyes.

Stars, it actually worked.

"Yes!" I pumped my fist in the air, now floating a foot above my body. I still looked the same, just transparent and a little sparkly. "In your face, Manny! I did it!" I cheered before looking down at Antauri, who was still deep in meditation.

"Look, 'Tauri! I've done it!" I floated over to him and tried to grasp his shoulder, only for my hand to go through him. Oh, duh. Astral body, physical body nonexistent at the moment.

When Antauri didn't respond, I shrugged, thinking that he was in too deep in meditation. Oh well.

"I'll be right back, 'Tauri," I told Antauri, giving him a ghost kiss on the forehead. I was gonna scare the living fur right off of Mandarin. That'll teach him not to doubt me!

But as soon as I phased through the door of my room, I felt heavy, and not in a good way. "Uggghhh!" I fell to my knees, my astral form flickering. I felt like I was fading away, getting dragged under. I couldn't move. It was only when I phased back into my room did I start to feel fine.

"What on earth…?" I mumbled, floating back to my body. Something must have gone wrong…

"Okay, 'Tauri. I think I've had my fun. Anchor me back, please," I called out to Antauri, receiving no response.

"Uh… 'Tauri? Helloooo?" I waved my paw in front of his face. Nothing.

That's when I started panicking. Something was definitely wrong. Something had definitely gone wrong.

"Come on, 'Tauri! Antauri! Antauri! NTAR11, answer me!" I yelled, trying yet failing to shake him awake.

A distant gong sounded, signaling the beginning of lunchtime. Mandarin poked his head into my room. Rather than panicking, I was relieved. Perhaps he could help.

"Antauri, Yinya, lunchtime!" Mandarin called out before leaving. There went one way to help…

Opening his eyes, Antauri looked at me and sighed. "Alright, Yinya, that's enough," he said.

Desperate, I tried to force myself back into my body. But every time I tried, I just phased through like a ghost. "ANTAURI, HELP!" I screamed, all my excitement replaced with fear.

Little by little, Antauri began to feel the same fear as well the longer he received no response from my physical body. "Yinya, it appears our attempt has failed. Let's go." He gently nudged me. He tried again, saying my name a little louder. His olive green eyes filled with worry as he tried and failed several times to rouse me.

"Yinya? Come on, this isn't funny. Wake up."

"I'm sorry, 'Tauri… Something's wrong…" I whimpered, floating beside him.

"Yinya?! Yinya! Wake up!" Shutting his eyes, Antauri tried to pick up on my presence. I felt a flicker of hope ignite in my chest. Maybe if he can sense me through the Power Primate, he'll be able to see me and we can figure a way out of this mess…

That flicker of hope sputtered out and died the moment he opened his eyes and his expression morphed from worry to complete panic.

"I-I can't... _I can't see her_…"

"What?" I breathed out in horror as Antauri, who was now in total panic mode, ran out of the room, yelling, "Mandarin! Master Xan! Master Yi! HELP!"

Looking at my physical body, I was filled with dread.

"_What have I done?"_

* * *

**Well, this was a long long overdue chapter. At last, we now know how Yinya ended up in stasis. Her pride led her to attempt to do something that others had warned her not to do, and Antauri was left to deal with the consequences.**

**Well, what do you think? Will Chiro figure out a way to bring Yinya back?**

**Find out in the next chapter of "The Lost Monkey" ;)**

**-GuardianDragon98**


	11. 10: Chiro and Yinya 2

**I'm back! This chapter's going to focus on the aftermath of Yinya's mistake. Better get some tissues ready.**

**NOTE: I DO NOT OWN SRMTHFG!**

* * *

**Chapter 10**

**Chiro**

Yinya is crying by the time she ends telling me her story. My heart breaks for her. She had been curious and had just wanted to try something new. She and Antauri didn't know that things were going to go wrong.

And Antauri… I can't believe he's kept all of his pain and guilt hidden for so long…

"So that's what happened…" I murmur, walking over to the tube keeping Yinya's physical body functioning. I turn to her and ask, "Didn't you try and reach out to the others for help? What about your creator?"

"I tried," Yinya sighs, wiping away her tears. "Nothing worked, not even the Power Primate. And I can't stay away from my body for too long otherwise I'll be sent to purgatory. I can't even go seven feet without feeling like my soul's being pulled into oblivion." She looks away from the tube, her cyan eyes losing their happy spark completely.

"I never should have tried to astral project. Not only did I completely separate my soul from my body, I caused my family so much grief…"

* * *

**Yinya**

When Antauri came back with Mandarin, tears were welling up in his eyes as Mandarin tried to awaken me. When he had failed to do so, Mandarin grabbed Antauri by the shoulders. "What happened?!" he snarled, shaking my boyfriend so hard that the tears came splashing out.

"Manny, stop! It wasn't his fault!" I begged, floating to hover between them, my astral body going through them like a ghost.

"W-we were just meditating… I-I don't know… I tried to wake her, but…" Antauri whimpered, his whole body shaking. To my relief, Mandarin's face softened and his anger evaporated the instant he saw the tears racing down Antauri's face.

For the next three days, I watched helplessly as Master Xan and Master Yi did everything they could to wake me up. But no amount of meditation or rituals could put me back into my body. Mandarin and Antauri would keep silent vigil as they did this, their eyes on me at all times.

"Oh, Yinya… My dear child, why didn't you listen?" Master Yi lamented when it became apparent that there was nothing she and the other Verron Mystics could do.

"I'm sorry, Master Yi! Forgive me!" I sobbed, bowing to her, knocking my head against the floor in penance several times even though she couldn't see me.

Father arrived on Koraladol three days later, and the anguish in his eyes was something I could never forget. He took my body into his arms, embracing it tenderly. "Yinya… My sweet girl…" he whispered, a single tear trickling down his cheek. He placed my body in a stasis tube filled with magenta fluid that would keep me alive, before taking me and Antauri and Mandarin back to Shuggazoom.

The rest of my family was already waiting in the lab by the time we arrived.

"Yinya!" Nova raced to my tube, wrapping her arms around it as best as she could. "Little sis, are you okay?!" she cried, her bubblegum pink eyes filled with tears.

"Nee-chan…" I whimpered, wishing I could embrace her. Instead, I stayed next to my body and watched the rest of my family surround Father and bombard him with questions.

"Will you be able to repair her?" Gibson inquired.

"I can help with that!" Otto piped up, his tone desperate.

"She's gonna be okay, right?" Sparx asked worriedly.

"What happened?" Nova looked at Antauri, hands clasped in front of her. "Antauri, what happened to Yinya?"

"I don't know… We were just meditating…" Antauri whispered, not meeting her gaze. He had barely slept during our last three days on Koraladol, trying and failing to anchor me back. I was so worried that he was going to have a serious meltdown.

Mandarin stepped up and took charge of Nova, Sparx, Otto, and Gibson, telling them that now wasn't a good time to start asking Antauri any questions. Father then coaxed the five of them into leaving the lab. Once they were gone, he knelt down and gently tilted Antauri's head up.

"Antauri, tell me the truth." Father's gaze wasn't angry or accusing as I had feared. Rather, it was gentle but sad. "You were with Yinya before she ended up in this state. Can you tell me what really happened, my son?" he asked.

"I'm sorry!" Antauri burst into tears, burying his face into his hands. "I'm so sorry, Father. This is all my fault…" he wept as he curled in on himself.

"No, 'Tauri, no… None of this is your fault. I'm the one who got myself into this mess and dragged you into it. I'm sorry…" I whispered, wrapping my arms around Antauri. I choked back a sob when my arms went through him. I wanted so badly to touch him, let him know that I was there, that I didn't blame him for anything…

Father hugged Antauri, letting him cry into his robes. "Antauri, I'm afraid I don't understand…" he said. So, hiccupping on his tears, Antauri told him of our attempt to astral project, how he had promised me that he would help in my endeavor, and of how he had failed to anchor my soul back into my body.

"I never should have said yes… I should have told her to stop before it was too late…" Antauri looked up at Father, his face streaked with tears. "I failed her," he lamented.

Father shook his head, gently taking Antauri's hands in his. "Neither of you could have known this was going to happen, Antauri. Don't blame yourself. I'm sure Yinya wouldn't want you to," he reassured him.

"Are you going to tell them?" Antauri's eyes widened and his tail immediately drooped until it was lying limp on the floor. When Father didn't answer straight away, he started to cry again.

"P-please don't tell them. I… _I don't want them to hate me_…"

My heart shattered at Antauri's plea. Mandarin, Nova, Sparx, Gibson, Otto… if they found out about what really happened, they would blame 'Tauri for it and would never speak to him again. He would be all alone…

To my relief, Father nodded. "This will be our secret," he promised Antauri who then went over to my tube. He pressed his forehead against the glass and murmured, "I'll find a way to bring you back, Yinya. I promise."

"I hope so, 'Tauri…" I sighed, floating next to him. "I really hope so…"

* * *

An agonizingly long time passed as Father tried to fix me. Otto assists in analyzing all of my systems, checking for viruses and broken parts and damaged circuitry. But it's not my physical body experiencing problems, it's my spirit, my very soul that's experienced a malfunction.

It crushed my heart every day to see Otto, the youngest out of all my brothers, pack away his tools every night with a defeated look on his face. He was our team mechanic and always managed to fix any gadget, any gizmo. Knowing that he couldn't fix me in the same way he fixed machinery must have been devastating for him.

Nee-chan came to see me every day. She would sit in front of my tube and tell me about her day and how everyone's doing. Nova didn't know it, but I would always sit in front of her while my body stayed floating in stasis. I latched onto every word, because I couldn't leave the confines of the lab without risking my soul being lost to the underworld. Sometimes, she would come with Sparx or everyone, sometimes she would come alone.

Sparx tried to lighten the dreary mood, cracking jokes and pretending that I'd heard them. I laughed at all of his jokes, no matter how corny some of them were. Maybe if I laughed loud enough, he'd hear me and know that I was still there.

Gibson would obsess over my brain scans, double and even triple-checking all of the test results. He'd puzzle over them for hours, discussing findings with Father as he worked until Mandarin would come to bring him to training.

Manny, he didn't really say much whenever he came to check up on me. He would just stand in front of my tube, eyes closed, trying to sense me through the Power Primate. But, most times, he was there to get Antauri out of the lab so he could eat or sleep… which rarely worked.

Antauri almost never left the lab during those two months, wanting to be near me at all times. He would meditate, attempting to seek out my soul and bring it back from the astral plane to my physical form. Whenever he got frustrated when he failed, which happened every day, he would pace about, unable to focus. He barely slept and the stress and anxiety were taking their toll on his body as he lost weight and became sickly. Sometimes, Father had to tranquilize him if he fought any of the others' attempts to get him out of the lab so he could rest. I would hear him scream my name every night as he woke up from nightmares and wouldn't calm down until he was allowed near me again. Every time his gaze landed on my slumbering form, the light would fade from his eyes.

It was soul-crushing.

I wanted so badly to turn back the clock to prevent all of this from happening, so 'Tauri wouldn't blame himself, but there was nothing I could do.

"I am so sorry, 'Tauri…" I would whisper to my boyfriend every day, but he never heard me.

* * *

My only way of tracking the days in the mostly dark lab was the calendar Father kept nailed to a wall. Two months after that fateful September 21st… Father gave up.

I could only stand beside my tube and watch, tears welling up in my eyes, as Father gathered my siblings and Antauri around him and broke the news.

"I'm afraid there's nothing more I can do for Yinya, my children. Her soul is gone." Father looks as if he's managed to age by 20 years in just two months, his shoulders slumped forward. "I can try to reactivate her, but she'll be a mere shell. That's why," His hands tremble as he makes his decision. "I believe it would be best to terminate Yinya and spare her from any more suffering," he murmured.

"No!" Antauri threw himself at Father, tears welling up in his eyes. "We can't give up on Yinya! There has to be another way to bring her back!" he begged.

"Give us one more month, please!" Otto knelt with his hands clasped as if in prayer.

"There might have been something we missed. Maybe if we run a couple more tests, we can find out what's really wrong," Gibson didn't need to shout, but the way his tail twitched gave away his fear.

"We can't give up on Yinya! She's our family. Father, please!" Nova cried out, tugging on Father's robe while trying to disentangle Antauri from him.

"You can't be serious…" Sparx looked at Father in disbelief. "After everything, you're just gonna give up on Yin?!" he shouted.

Mandarin sighed and nodded to Father. "If that is what must be done…" he said softly, making the rest of the team look at him in horror.

"Mandarin, don't tell me you're okay with this?!" Nova exclaimed.

"Of course I'm not!" For a minute, I saw tears well up in Mandarin's eyes but he blinked them away. "I love Yinya as much as all of you do. But if her soul's no longer here then what's the point? Even if her body is reactivated, she won't be the little sister we all know. She'll be nothing more than a cybernetic shell. Terminating her… it will be the kindest thing we could ever do for her so that _both _her body and soul may rest in peace," he said calmly.

To my shock, Antauri suddenly lunged at Mandarin. He tackled him to the floor, Ghost Claws activated. "How could you say that?! She's family!" he yelled, his eyes filled with tears and rage.

"Antauri, enough!" I could only watch, my entire astral body shaking, as Father pulled Antauri off of Mandarin. "There's nothing more we can do! Yinya is _gone_! She is _never _coming back!" Father bellowed, scaring all of us.

I'd never seen Father so angry before. I felt a whole new wave of guilt wash over me. All the stress, all the anger, and sadness that had befallen my family… this was all because of me and my stupid curiosity…

If I hadn't been so eager to try astral projecting, none of this would have happened…

"No!" Antauri twisted out of Father's grasp and fell to the floor. "You've just given up on her! You've all given up on her! I HATE YOU!" he screamed.

"Oh 'Tauri…" I floated over to him, but no sooner had I done that, Antauri ran out of the lab in tears.

"Antauri, wait!" Nova cried out, the boys following her out of the lab.

Father and I were left alone. Taking one look at my still form floating in the magenta tube, Father sank to the floor and wept.

"Yinya… My dear child, forgive me…" Father whispered brokenly.

"No, Father…" Tears streaming down my face, I wrapped my ghostly arms around him as best as I could. "Forgive _me_…"

* * *

A few days later, my siblings came one-by-one to say their goodbyes.

"You were the best little sister in the whole world. You were my Christmas wish come true. I'm sorry I wasn't there, Yin. I'm sorry your nee-chan couldn't be there when you needed her the most…" Nova sobbed, placing a small wreath of flowers at the foot of my tube.

Sparx sniffled, trying his best not to cry. "I would have wanted to beat you in just one game of tag, just once. But I guess we can't do that anymore, kiddo…" he mumbled before leaving, his shoulders shaking as he finally let himself cry.

"I put all of your stuff in here so you'll be able to take them with you wherever you're going next." Otto set down a metal box containing my mandolin, my pendant, and the only two photos I got to take with my family. He looked up at my slumbering form, his lip trembling. "I'm sorry, Yinya! I'm so sorry I couldn't fix you!" he bawled, hugging my tube.

"I'll miss having conversations about… just about everything." Gibson couldn't even bear to look at my tube as tears trickled down his cheeks. "You inspired me to look at the universe in a whole new, more fun way. I'll never forget everything you've taught me," he whispered.

Mandarin spent most of the time he was allowed to see me just staring. Finally, he gently placed his hand against the glass. "Farewell, little sister… You always were the only one who could really make me laugh. What I would give to hear _you _laugh… one last time…" he said softly, tears silently streaming down his face.

With every goodbye, my heartache increased. I hated myself. For trying to astral project, for causing my family so much pain, I hated myself for everything.

'_My fault, my fault, all my damn fault…' _I thought to myself as I tried again and again and again to merge with my body.

Antauri was the last to come and say goodbye. Just looking at him and his dulled green eyes was enough to shatter my heart into a billion tiny pieces. I had caused him - the love of my life - the most pain of all.

"Antauri, I…" I went over to him, noticing that he was wearing his yang pendant. He took out my yin pendant out of the box Otto had left and joined them together briefly.

"No matter how far apart we are, we'll never be truly apart… I wish that were true." Antauri separated the pendants from each other, placing mine back in the box. "I'm so sorry, Yinya… I'm sorry I failed to be your anchor," he said softly.

"It wasn't your fault, 'Tauri. It's not your fault…" I whimpered and leaned forward to press my forehead against his in a soft intimate gesture, making sure to keep an inch between us. At least I could trick myself into believing that this was real…

"But, even though our time together was short, I'm thankful." Antauri smiled sadly, tears welling up in his eyes. "I'm glad I decided to hide out in Father's lab during that one game of hide-and-seek. If I hadn't, I wouldn't have met you. I wouldn't have helped Father finish making you. And I'm so glad that I did.

"Yinya, I don't know if you can hear me but if you can, I… I want you to know that you made me _so_ _happy_. I was never really that good at expressing my emotions so freely. You changed that. Thanks to you, I became brave enough to really let my feelings show, to laugh loudly, smile widely, and not care if anyone thought of it as weird. Whenever you were around, I felt like I didn't need to keep my emotions so closely guarded, that I could be free… thanks to you.

"I'm glad I got to know you. I'll miss going stargazing with you on Friday nights. I'll miss our philosophical debates. I'll miss hearing you playing the mandolin. I'll miss playing tag with you. I'll miss being able to kiss you and hold you close…"

"I'm sorry…" Antauri choked out, letting the tears fall. "I'm sorry, Yinya… I'm sorry I couldn't bring you back. Most of all… I'm sorry I never got to tell you this enough times." Levitating off the ground until he was level with my body, Antauri pressed his forehead against the glass and whispered three little words.

"_I love you._"

"I love you, too…" I sobbed, floating behind Antauri. "I love you, Antauri… So much…"

Antauri let out a quiet sob and floated out of the room backward, his gaze never leaving me.

"'Tauri, no… Wait!" I floated over to him, my stomach dropping as I felt the all-too-familiar sensation of being pulled into oblivion.

"Goodbye, Yinya. I love you." With those words, the doors to the lab closed - my last sight of Antauri being his beautiful green eyes filled with tears and his sad, resigned smile.

"Wait! 'Tauri, no! Don't go! I'm here! I'm here! I'M STILL HERE!" I screamed, having no choice but to remain within the confines of the lab.

Only when the lights turned off did I realize that there was no more hope for me. My family all thought I was gone. Soon, Father would come in and take my body apart…

Then I really will be gone…

Unable to bear the pain any longer, I collapsed to the floor on my knees and cried.

* * *

**Oof, this was quite an emotional chapter for me. Let me know what you think.**

**-GuardianDragon98**


	12. 11: Yinya and Jinmay

**This story is nearing its completion! Will Chiro be able to help Yinya? Let's find out! On with the story!**

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING HERE EXCEPT FOR MY OC, Yinya! ALL RIGHTS TO SRMTHFG BELONG TO DISNEY CHANNEL AND CIRO NIELI.**

* * *

**Chapter 11**

**Yinya**

"Oh, come on, Chiro… Don't cry…" I say as I comfort the sobbing boy in front of me. After I had finished telling my sorry tale, Chiro just started to cry. I guess my story is a bit of a tearjerker, but I feel bad for making Chiro cry. It wasn't his fault I ended up like this.

"I-I'm sorry…" Chiro sniffles, wiping his tears. "It's just so unfair that you've had to live like this for so long," he tells me.

"Hey, it wasn't your fault." I smile and float slightly above his shoulder, lying on my stomach. "And you being able to see me is already making me feel so happy. It's nice to have time alone to yourself, but after a couple of weeks… or months… or _years_…" My eyes glaze over as I think of the seemingly countless number of hours I've been alone. "…being alone can get boring and depressing," I admit.

Chiro nods then put a hand to his chin, eyebrows furrowing.

"That's a thinking face right there." I perk up and move to float in front of him. "I've seen Gibson pull those faces when he's deeply immersed in his research. You've got an idea," I guess.

Chiro nods, frowning. "I do, but…" he sighs, shoulders slumping. "It won't work unless I can convince the team to believe me." He tells me his plan and I find myself nodding in agreement. If he's mentioning the team, that means he wants to tell them about me, about how he can see me via the Power Primate.

"So Gibson can use magic now? Rational, scientific Gibson?" I ask when Chiro mentions some spellbook my clever blue brother apparently keeps in his possession. "Never thought I'd see the day he'd believe in magic."

"Yeah, well, a lot of things have happened. For one, Antauri's silver now." Chiro's face pales and he sheepishly rubs the back of his head.

"Ooh, 'Tauri got an upgrade!" I grin, picturing Antauri with a silver body. The thought of it makes me blush.

"Um, not exactly…" Chiro mumbles. I sense apprehension and peer closely into his face.

"Just what exactly have I missed, Chiro?" I ask him, narrowing my eyes at him.

What Chiro has to tell me nearly shatters both my heart and my mind.

Mandarin betrayed the team.

Father had succumbed to the great evil he had built us to fight against and was, now, no more.

And the role of the Chosen One – protector of the universe – was placed on the shoulders of Chiro when he was just 13.

"Oh, my stars…" I whisper, floating back into my tube and phasing through my physical body again. My mind is racing, trying to cope with the overload of information Chiro's just given me in the past 15 minutes.

My mind flashes back to one of the days of my imprisonment. I'd been trying to fuse my soul back into my body when, all of a sudden, I had doubled over in pain. It felt like someone had reached inside of me, took my heart, and ripped it in two. Tremors had shaken my room, but I didn't know where they had come from and I was too focused on the pain.

Now I know why I'd felt the way I did on that day – I'd felt Antauri die.

"I'm sorry, Yinya… but the Alchemist and Mandarin are gone," Chiro says, crouching down to my eye level. "I know this is a lot to take in, and I'm sorry you had to find out in this way."

I give him a half-hearted smile. "Well, what's done is done. Sure, it hurts to know that I've lost some of my family…" I place a hand to my chest. "But at least Nee-Chan, 'Tauri, Otto, Sparx, and Gibson are still around. And now we have you and Jinmay. You two make a really cute couple, by the way," I say, winking at Chiro who blushes at the mention of Jinmay.

"But, seriously, 'Tauri…" I shake my head. "Sacrificing himself to save others is so him, but _so _unnecessary. If the universe is once again threatened by evil and he gives himself up to purify the Power Primate, save the cosmos and all that jazz, at the cost of his life… I swear that I will follow him into the afterlife and then drag him back into the living world by his tail," I say with my most serious tone, making Chiro chuckle.

"That'd be fun to watch." Chiro smiles sadly. "He really misses you, Yinya. They all do," he tells me.

"I know. And it'd be nice to use that spell in Gibson's spellbook so they can see me, but I guess it'll take a lot for you to convince them." Suddenly, I stand straight to attention. "Unless you _can _convince them!" I do a cartwheel in my excitement then somersault onto Chiro's head.

"Tomorrow, get the team in here and just repeat whatever I say to you!" I tell Chiro, who looks confused.

"Uh… okay?" he replies before turning around to leave. Before he covers up my room again, he looks back at me one last time, his blue eyes shining with determination. "I won't give up, Yinya. I'll find a way to reunite you with your family," he promises.

"Thanks, Chiro. You've really earned that 'Chosen One' title," I say, giving my new friend a thumbs-up. Once Chiro covers up my room, I'm alone in the dark again. But instead of despair, I feel something new instead, something I hadn't felt in a long time.

_Hope._

* * *

**Jinmay**

Early in the morning, before the Monkey Team wakes, I meet up with Chiro in his room and he gives me the most incredible news.

"Yinya's still here?" I ask, eyes wide.

"I want you all to see her. We can use the Power Primate, but it might not be enough. If there's a spell in Gibson's _Grimoire of Necrodeus _that'll allow us to see spirits, it might work on Yinya and we can all think up of a plan on how to get her back into her body," Chiro tells me, determination shining in his eyes.

"And… what about Antauri?" I ask, remembering how miserable Yinya's "death" had made the Hyperforce's second-in-command.

Chiro's face turns sad. "We won't tell him… yet. First, we have to get Nova, Sparx, Gibson, and Otto on our side. Then we can tell Antauri the truth," he decides.

I nod and give him a smile. "I may not be connected to the Power Primate as strongly as you are, Chiro, but I'll do my best to help. Yinya deserves to be reunited with her family," I tell my boyfriend, making him smile.

The two of us then spring into action. I get Gibson, Nova, Otto, and Sparx while Chiro checks up on Antauri. Convincing Gibson to bring the _Grimoire of Necrodeus _isn't easy, but when I tell him that there's a certain "spirit" living inside the Super Robot who wants to communicate with us, his curiosity is piqued and he brings the book over to Yinya's room.

Chiro enters the room, grinning. "Antauri's going to stay in his room meditating. That should give us enough time," he reports.

"I've looked through this volume and there _is _one spell here." Gibson opens the book and shows us a page illustrated with humans talking to ghost-like figures. "The Miracle Eye Incantation – once uttered, all spirits shall be made visible to mortals but only for one day," he informs us before looking at Chiro and I. "Although I am quite apprehensive. Who exactly is this spirit wanting to communicate with us?" he asks.

Chiro takes a deep breath and begins to tell the Monkey Team the truth. As he explains to them how Yinya had accidentally forced her soul out of her body in a failed attempt at astral projection, I see shock, confusion, sadness, and worry chase themselves across all of their faces.

And, faintly, I detect a presence among us, of someone waiting.

"Yinya's… still here?" Otto blinks, looking around the room.

"I know it's hard to believe, team, but she's been trapped in this room for a long time. She's been trying to get back to you all for so long," Chiro says gravely.

Nova bites her lip. "I know you feel bad for us, Chiro… But I… we… we just can't believe it. I-if Yinya's soul has been here all this time, why haven't we been able to feel her presence?" she asks.

"She's our sister," Sparx states as-a-matter-of-factly. "We would have been able to sense her through the Power Primate."

For a minute, Chiro looks unsure. Then he looks at Gibson or, more accurately, at the empty spot beside him. "Yinya's here, guys. I can prove it." He smiles and points at our resident scientist.

"Gibson! You once tried to invent a caffeine patch to help you stay awake by soaking an ordinary gauze bandage in espresso."

"That was one time! And that was _before _I began studying chemistry!" Gibson shouts, his face turning red.

"Sparx!" Chiro grinned. "Your favorite cartoons were _'The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog,' 'Sonic SatAM,' _and _'Sonic Underground.' _Your favorite character was Sonic before you switched to Tails."

"Well, yeah. Sonic's fast but Tails is a better pilot. And there's nothing cooler than supporting the little guy," Sparx shrugs before his eyes widen. "Wait, how do you know that?!"

I can't help but giggle as Chiro continues to spill what sounds like the Monkey Team's most embarrassing secrets.

"Otto's scared of clams because their shells look like they have teeth when they open. If clams sprouted feet then they'll be able to walk onto land and eat him," Chiro says before looking at our green-furred mechanic quizzically.

"It can happen! Evolution's a scary thing!" Otto shudders.

"And Nee-chan." Chiro smiles at Nova. "You once told me that if Sparx stopped acting like an egotistical jerkwad, you'd want to date him," he tells my golden simian sister.

Nova's cheeks turn pink. "I-I never told you that. The only person I ever said that to was…" she gasps and looks at Chiro.

The rest of the Monkey Team stare at him as realization dawns on them.

"Yinya…" Otto breathes out.

"Only she knew about my failed attempts at inventing a caffeine-patch," Gibson says, his eyes wide.

"Yinya was the only one I watched Sonic cartoons with." Sparx looks around. "Yin, if you're here then give us a sign!" he calls out.

Nova grabs Chiro's hand. "Is she really here, Chiro? Is my little sis here?" she asks, pink eyes wide and pleading.

My boyfriend nods. "I'm here, Nee-chan. And I'm so happy to see you again," he says and I realize that Yinya must be near Chiro, relaying her words to him.

Nova starts to tear up, prompting Chiro and me to embrace her. "We're going to bring her back, Nova," I tell her then look at Gibson. "Gibson, are you ready to perform the incantation?"

"I'll need Yinya's pendant to perform the spell," Gibson says and takes the yin pendant out of the box. Placing it in front of Yinya's tube, he starts reading the incantation. As he chants, the atmosphere changes. The very air feels charged with energy…

Then, all of a sudden, a robot monkey's silhouette starts to flicker into existence. The Monkey Team and I watch, astounded, as its shape becomes more defined and gains color. I find myself gawking at the ghostly form of Yinya, who smiles.

"Hey, guys…" Yinya waves, tears glistening in her cyan eyes.

For a minute, no one says a word.

Then, Otto cries out, "YINYA!" and runs toward his sister, yelping when he runs right through her. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" he turns around with a guilty look on his face.

"It's okay, Otto!" Yinya giggles before looking at me. "Nice to meet you, Jinmay. You're beautiful," she compliments me and curtsies, making me blush.

Nova steps forward. "Y-Yin…?" she reaches out with a trembling hand.

"Hi, Nee-chan…" Yinya sniffles, a few tears running down her cheeks.

Nova sobs, smiling through her tears, as the boys surround her.

"Dang it, kiddo… You were here this whole time…" Sparx chuckles, shaking his head in disbelief.

"But I don't understand…" Gibson closes _The Grimoire of Necrodeus _and sets it down on the floor. "The Alchemist told us that he had taken your body apart," he says, quirking an eyebrow.

"Father had originally intended to. But, for some reason, he didn't." Yinya looks at her tube, her face pensive. "He had a chamber constructed in the Super Robot then sealed me inside. I don't why…" she replies.

"Maybe he felt like there was still a chance you could be brought back," Chiro guesses and she hums, sitting cross-legged in midair.

Looking at her siblings, Yinya's cheerful expression crumbles into one of deep sadness. "I'm so sorry, everyone. I never meant to cause you all so much pain…" she whimpers, tearing up.

"Oh, Yin…" Nova smiles comfortingly as she and the boys surround her. "We don't blame you. You made a mistake. It's okay, everyone messes up from time to time," she tells her.

Yinya lets out a watery laugh, wiping her tears away, relieved. "And… 'Tauri?" she sniffles. "You guys don't blame him?" she asks.

"Not gonna lie, Yin. We're shocked that he knew about what really happened to you, heck, and was even directly involved with it…" Sparx sighs. "And it hurts to know that he kept it a secret from us… But we don't blame him."

"Out of all of us, he was the most affected by what happened to you," Gibson adds.

Yinya lets out a sigh of relief then straightens up. "Well, then, you all know why you're here," she says then turns to Chiro. "Your leader was able to see me thanks to the Power Primate. Perhaps it can bring my soul back into my body."

Gibson scratches his head. "It's possible… but it'll require a lot of power," he says, doubtful.

"That's why I gathered you all here." Chiro spreads his arms out wide. "If all six of us concentrate the Power Primate into Yinya's soul, we might be able to give her a much-needed boost to get her back into her body," he announces.

The Monkey team looks at one another then nods. "Let's get you back into your body, little sis," Nova tells Yinya who grins.

The six of us stand before Yinya in a semi-circle.

"All right, Hyperforce, GO!" Chiro crosses his arms over his chest and we all do the same.

Concentrating hard, I focus the green aura that is the Power Primate I've acquired from being around Chiro and the Monkey Team for nearly three years then push it towards Yinya in a concentrated beam.

One by one, we transfer our Power Primate to Yinya who winces as the energy hits her. Her astral body flickers and she lets out a piercing scream, turning into a magenta mist and floating through the glass of her tube.

"It's woooorrrkiiiiinnnggg!" Otto hollers, voice vibrating as Yinya's physical body glows a bright magenta.

Suddenly green light explodes all around, forcing us to shield our eyes.

Opening my eyes, I see Yinya's spirit floating outside of her body, looking dazed. "It… didn't work?" I ask, incredulous.

The Monkey Team looks defeated as Yinya floats back down to them.

"We concentrated all of our energy and it still wasn't enough!" Nova exclaims, frustrated.

"You did your best, guys. But I think we need something more. We need someone highly attuned to the spiritual realm… to anchor me back." Yinya looks at Chiro, who pales.

Swallowing, Chiro nods. "I'll go get him," he tells her and leaves the room.

I look at Yinya and can see she's nervous and so are the rest of the team.

Someone highly attuned to the spiritual realm… there was only one member of the team who fits the requirement.

Antauri.


	13. 12: A Happy Reunion

**Well, here it is. The final chapter. Will Antauri be able to face his past and be reunited with Yinya? Will Yinya have another chance to be with her family?**

**Find out in the final chapter of The Lost Monkey!**

**NOTE: I DO NOT OWN SRMTHFG!**

* * *

**Chapter 12**

**(Normal POV)**

Chiro's palms were sweaty as he entered Antauri's room. _I have to break the news to him gently otherwise he'll freak out, _he reminded himself as he approached the silver monkey who opened one blue eye at his entrance.

"Oh, hello, Chiro," Antauri greeted the young boy before noticing Chiro's stance. The boy was chewing his lip and hugging himself. Floating over to Chiro, Antauri asked, "Is there something wrong?" his eyes gentle and filled with open trust.

Chiro took a deep breath. "Hey, Antauri… about what happened the day before yesterday… Are you sure you're okay?" he asked.

Antauri blinked, a bit surprised at the question, before smiling. "Ah, yes. I'm sorry that I worried you and the team with my behavior. I… just wasn't feeling myself on that day," he replied, his eyes not quite meeting Chiro's.

"I know." Chiro decided it was time. "I'm sorry you've had to live with the pain and the guilt about what happened," he said.

Antauri's eyes widened and he nearly fell to the floor if he hadn't regained his composure. "Wh-what are you talking about, Chiro?" he asked.

Chiro stepped forward and gently wrapped his arms around the silver simian. "I know about Yinya, Antauri," he confessed.

A sharp intake of breath was heard and Antauri went rigid. So shocked he was at the revelation that he entered Ghost Mode and phased out of Chiro's embrace. "What?" he breathed out, taking a step back as Chiro approached him.

"There's something I need to show you. Do you trust me?" Chiro asked him, arms open.

Antauri mulled over his decision. On one hand, he wanted to keep silent about Yinya, to remember her on his own. On the other hand, he wanted to know how Chiro knew about her. Finally, he went over to his bed and reached under his pillow, taking out his pendant. Looking at the shining quartzite, Antauri made his decision.

"Of course I trust you, Chiro."

Chiro smiled and led Antauri down his tube, holding the silver monkey's hand as they approached the secret room.

Antauri cocked his head at the entrance to the secret room. He'd connected to the Super Robot several times before and thought that he'd seen every inch of it. He followed Chiro into the room… and froze.

"Antauri…" Nova stepped forward but Sparx gently grasped her wrist and shook his head. Gibson, Otto, and Jinmay looked at Chiro who kept his eye on Antauri.

For Antauri, it was as if the world had fallen away and nothing else existed except for the glowing tube of magenta liquid that housed the body of Yinya. Seeing her again, in suspended animation like before, it felt as if he'd gone back in time to the moment he said goodbye.

"H-how…?" Antauri felt his legs shaking as he walked towards Yinya's tube. "I-I don't understand…" he murmured, stopping and falling to his knees at the foot of the tube.

"The Alchemist constructed this chamber to hide her." Gibson went forward and laid his hand on Antauri's shoulder. "He must have thought that we could bring her back someday," he told him.

"And we can!" Otto grinned at Yinya's astral body, who smiled. "Yinya's here, Antauri! We can see her," he announced.

"Stop."

Everyone tensed at that single word, said by Antauri in a flat, emotionless tone.

Head bowed, Antauri clenched his hands into fists as he knelt before the body of his cyan-eyed love. "Stop telling me that she's still here. She isn't," he whispered, his body shaking.

"Antauri, that's not true. Yinya's soul was never lost. She's been stuck here trying to get back inside her body," Chiro said desperately. He could sense that the silver monkey was in distress and tried to defuse the situation. "She told us what really happened on September 21st."

Standing up, Antauri faced the team. To their shock, black tears were welling up in his eyes.

"Then you all must hate me," he choked out.

"Antauri, that's not true," Sparx said, worried for his brother.

"Don't lie to me, Sparx!" Antauri snapped.

Chiro and Jinmay gasped while Nova, Gibson, and Otto backed off as Antauri glared at them all, body tense as he tried to fight back tears.

If Antauri had been calm, he would have sensed a familiar presence. Yinya now floated over to him until she was right beside him. Tears welled up in her eyes as she reached out to him, her hand going through Antauri's when she tried to hold it.

"I never should have let her go through with it! If I hadn't allowed Yinya to try and astral project all those years ago then she'd still be here! I failed to anchor her back to this world and, like a coward, I had our Father keep my involvement a secret! Admit it! You all hate me because it's my fault that Yinya is GONE!" Antauri yelled. Panting, he then bowed his head, a few tears sliding down his face and dripping onto the floor and staining it black.

"It was my fault… It was all my fault…" he whimpered.

"No, 'Tauri… No…" Yinya shook her head fiercely as tears streamed down her face. "It was never your fault," she whispered into the silver simian's ear but Antauri didn't hear her.

Nova approached Antauri. Without a word, she hugged him and began to gently rub his back. Antauri stiffened for a minute before letting out a soft sob and burying his face in the golden monkey's shoulder.

Nova held Antauri tight, her mind transported to that fateful day when the Alchemist told them that he was going to take Yinya apart after all hopes of bringing her back had vanished. Antauri had run out of the lab. A storm had blown in and she and her brothers had run after him, ignoring the rain. They'd wandered around in the wilderness for hours, getting soaked by the rain and slipping and falling into mud puddles. It was nighttime when they finally found Antauri, the then-black monkey crying into Nova's arms as his heart shattered into a million pieces.

Now, in the shadow of her little sister's tube, Nova felt grief weigh down on her once again as she witnessed Antauri cry again. "It wasn't your fault…" she said softly as Sparx, Gibson, Otto, Jinmay, and Chiro joined in comforting the silver simian. "It wasn't your fault, Antauri. We're not mad at you."

Looking at his friends, Antauri shook his head. "It doesn't change the fact that Yinya is gone. She's gone and she's never coming back," he sobbed. "Don't give me hope when it doesn't exist!"

"That's where you're wrong." Chiro knelt down to look Antauri in the eye. "Antauri, you've always told me to have an open mind, to accept all sorts of possibilities. Yinya _is_ here. Just reach out to her with the Power Primate. I know you can," he reassured him.

Sniffing, Antauri took a shaky breath. Calming down a little, he detected a presence. Closing his eyes, he felt the tug of the Power Primate and followed it until he reached the presence. He gasped as he felt a jolt, his soul resonating with the presence, and his eyes flew open.

And he found himself staring at Yinya.

"Hi, 'Tauri," Yinya said softly, waving to him. When her boyfriend didn't respond, she tried to lighten the mood. "Heh, I like the new look. Silver's a good color for you," she remarked, grinning.

Antauri felt tears well up in his eyes again. Reaching up with a trembling hand, he tried to cup Yinya's cheek but failed. His hand went through his beloved's face. "I'm sorry," he blurted out before dissolving into tears again. "I'm s-so, so, so sorry…" he hiccupped.

"You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for," Yinya replied, shaking her head. "I should have listened to you, Antauri. I caused you all so much grief. _I'm _sorry. I'm sorry that you had to suffer so much because of me." Crystal tears flowed down Yinya's cheeks as she leaned forward, her forehead just an inch away from resting against Antauri's. They stayed like that for a while, reunited and reveling in the joy of just being able to see each other again.

Antauri looked at Yinya with teary eyes and cracked a smile. "I'm so happy to see you," he whispered.

"Me, too, 'Tauri," Yinya laughed then became serious. "But, honestly? Sacrificing yourself? That was noble and incredibly stupid. I mean, what if Chiro hadn't been able to find Father's lab? What then? If you die before your time again, I swear that I will follow you into the afterlife and then drag you back into the world of the living by the tail," she scolded Antauri who, despite being fully robotic, was still capable of blushing.

"That was one time! And it was necessary to save the universe!" Antauri squeaked out, sending the team into giggles.

"Well, you don't have to have the burden of the entire universe on your shoulders now. Our family's here. We all share the burden of protecting everyone," Yinya reminded him.

Antauri nodded, smiling shyly. "I guess you're right…" he mumbled.

"She's right." Chiro spread his arms out. "And now that we're all together, we can bring Yinya back," he announced. He looked Antauri and smiled. "We need you, Antauri. You're the one who has the strongest link with the spiritual realm and you've done this before," he told the team's second-in-command.

At the mention of astral projection, Antauri curled in on himself. "I-I can't…" Trembling, he looked at Yinya, eyes wide and fearful. "I couldn't anchor you back the first time. What if something goes wrong again? I…" he sighed and bowed his head. "I can't lose you again, Yinya… I can't…" he pleaded.

"Oh, 'Tauri…" Yinya smiled, reaching out to wipe away the black tears staining the silver simian's face but to no avail. "It'll be okay. We're not alone in this anymore. We have help," she reassured him. Then she leaned in and whispered, "I love you too." Surprising Antauri. "I love you, Antauri. Always have and always will."

Once he was sure that his cheeks were no longer red, Antauri turned to Chiro and the rest of the Hyperforce and nodded. He was ready to try again and bring Yinya back.

Chiro, Jinmay, Sparx, Nova, Otto, and Gibson stood around Antauri and Yinya in a circle. Taking his yang pendant and connecting it to the yin half belonging to Yinya, Antauri sat on the floor, assuming the lotus position, while Yinya hovered in front of her physical form, mirroring his lotus pose.

"It's time, Hyperforce," Antauri commanded, closing his eyes. A bright green aura emanated from his body, covering him like a flame before morphing into a long thread that wrapped itself around Yinya's astral body. The magenta monkey closed her eyes just as the rest of the team concentrated their individual Power Primate and sending their energy towards her.

Despite hearing Yinya scream, the sound sending another spike of pain into his heart, Antauri kept his eyes closed and focused. _I will not fail her again! _He thought, concentrating all his energy to anchoring Yinya's soul back to her body.

Antauri and Yinya's joined pendants suddenly levitated off the floor, spinning like crazy, as the team worked together. At the same time, Yinya's physical body began to glow and a thin silver thread shot out of it.

"Now's your chance, Yinya!" Chiro yelled, seeing the thread through the harsh green-and-white light.

Yinya felt the silver thread wrap around her and smiled, knowing that, this time, it worked.

There was a surge of energy, electricity lighting up Yinya's tube, and light exploded all around the room. The Hyperforce screamed as the blast knocked them off their feet.

Groaning, the Monkey Team stood up and saw Yinya's tube being drained of fluid.

"You okay?" Jinmay helped a groaning Chiro up the floor.

Chiro nodded and watched as there was a sudden rush of steam as the tube opened. For a minute, there was nothing… until a magenta-furred robot monkey staggered out of the tube.

Yinya put a hand to her head, and slowly flexed her fingers. A smile formed on her muzzle, growing wider as she felt her joints work. "I… I'm back… I'm back…" she murmured, happy tears welling up in her eyes.

Nova gasped and approached her little sister. "Y-Yin…?" she breathed out.

"Nee-chan," Yinya sobbed, reaching out to the golden monkey.

With a cry of happiness, Nova engulfed the magenta simian in a tight hug followed by Sparx, Otto, and Gibson.

"It worked! It really worked…" Nova cried, nuzzling her cheek against Yinya's.

"Welcome back, kiddo!" Sparx laughed, rubbing Yinya's head.

"We've missed you so much!" Otto bawled, hugging Yinya tightly and never wanting to let go.

"It's truly a miracle," Gibson said, wiping a tear from his eye.

Yinya sobbed, embracing her siblings individually. Then she spotted Chiro and Jinmay, the two teens watching the happy reunion and beaming. "Chiro, Jinmay…" Wiggling out of her siblings' embrace, she dashed over to the couple and tackle hugged them. "Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you, a million, billion, trillion times THANK YOU!" she shouted with joy.

Chiro chuckled, petting Yinya, then looked at Antauri and paled. The silver monkey was sprawled out on the floor, lying on his back, his blue eyes blank. "Uh, guys…?"

Seeing their second-in-command knocked out, the Monkey Team rushed over to Antauri. Yinya took one look at him and freaked. She let go of Chiro and Jinmay and barreled over to him. "Oh stars, is he okay?!" she yelled, kneeling beside Antauri.

Gibson checked over Antauri and breathed out a sigh of relief. "He's all right. I just need to reboot his system. Shouldn't take long…" he said, his right hand transforming into a rebooting port. Connecting it to Antauri's head, he rebooted the silver monkey's system.

Antauri groaned, blinking the haze out of his eyes. The first thing he saw was Yinya, who smiled from ear to ear.

"Hi," said Yinya, cupping Antauri's face in her hands.

"Is this real?" Antauri whispered, his lip quivering, reaching out to touch her cheek.

"Yeah, it's real. I'm here, 'Tauri…" Yinya murmured, tears slipping out of her eyes.

Antauri couldn't take it and collapsed into Yinya's arms, crying his eyes out. Yinya started crying herself, holding onto Antauri like her life depended on it.

"I'm so happy… So happy…" Yinya whispered.

"You're back… You're really back…" Antauri murmured, his tears staining his armor and Yinya's own fur.

"I'm so sorry for causing you so much pain. I never wanted to hurt you…"

"All in the past. I'm just glad you're here, like, really _here_…"

Yinya laughed and cried simultaneously, laying kisses all over Antauri's face, the silver monkey chuckling through his tears. The chuckles turned into laughs as Antauri kissed back, happier than mere words could express.

Standing apart from the couple, Chiro looked at Jinmay and smiled as she leaned against him, smiling as well.

As for Nova, Sparx, Gibson, and Otto, tears of joy welled up in their eyes as they saw Antauri laugh and smile like he used to in the past. They had their happy older brother back.

Wiping away his tears, Antauri gazed lovingly into Yinya's eyes before leaning forward and kissing her passionately.

Yinya purred, closing her eyes and relishing in the warmth of the kiss.

Only when Sparx and the boys started wolf-whistling and clapping did she and Antauri break the kiss to glare at them and shout, "Shove off!" before looking at each other and bursting out laughing.

The whole team came in a group hug, and Yinya sighed, overwhelmed by just how happy and safe and loved she felt.

"Welcome home, Yinya," Chiro said.

"I'm home…" Yinya murmured, smile as bright as the sun.

* * *

"Here ya go, Yin!" Otto placed a huge bowl of chocolate ice cream covered in mountains of fresh whipped cream, lashings of chocolate syrup, sprinkled with crushed almonds, and topped with a cherry. "Figured that the first thing you'd want to eat after being a ghost for so long's your favorite chocolate sundae!" he said.

"Yes!" Yinya squealed, taking her spoon. "I've missed eating!" she declared, digging into the sundae, pausing between bites to rub her head as brain freeze kicked in. "It's so good!" she exclaimed, cyan eyes sparkling.

Once Yinya was brought out of her chamber, the team set out to make her first day back the best. They let her run around the Super Robot, doing cartwheels all over the place, and played tag with her, laughing as they raced each other through the halls.

Chiro introduced Yinya to the Sun Riders TV show, and he was glad to see Yinya take a liking to the show immediately.

Sometimes, the team would leave Yinya and Antauri alone in a room so they could have some quality time together. The couple would then come back to the team, grinning like idiots (and Antauri sporting a bright red face).

For the Monkey Team, it was amazing to have Yinya with them again and to see Antauri happy, genuinely happy again.

Relaxing in the main room, the Hyperforce bonded with their new member. Yinya was content to curl up next to Antauri in his chair, the two of them getting lost in each other's eyes.

Then Sparx stretched. "Man, it feels like we've been in the Robot for forever. What time is it?" he asked.

Gibson checked the clock. "10:30 PM. Goodness, we've stayed up late," he remarked.

"It's nighttime?" Yinya perked up. "Then that means the stars are out!" she said, jumping to her feet. Pulling Antauri out of his chair, she made a beeline for the main lift. Then she stopped, tail twitching.

"Are you all right?" Antauri asked her, placing an arm over her shoulders.

"I… I just can't believe that I'll be able to see the stars again…" Yinya sighed, wrapping her arms around herself.

Antauri nuzzled her. "Then let's go see some stars," he said as the rest of the team went on ahead.

Taking a deep breath, Yinya stepped into the lift and shut her eyes as it carried her up and out of the Super Robot. Upon feeling the cool night air, she opened her eyes and gasped.

"Wow…"

The night skies over Shuggazoom were clear of clouds and the stars seemed to shine their brightest as if welcoming the magenta robot monkey who sat on the shoulder of the Robot with the rest of the Hyperforce.

"So what do you think, Yinya? Good first day back?" Chiro asked Yinya, who kept her gaze to the heavens.

"The best day of my entire life." Yinya nodded, linking hands with Antauri and smiling. "The stars are as beautiful as I remember…" she said softly.

Antauri smiled and leaned closer to her. "Not as beautiful as you," he whispered.

"Oh, 'Tauri!" Yinya giggled, giving him a little shove.

Standing up, Chiro strapped on his rocket pack that he'd with him. "All right, team! The night's still young and the sky is clear! Let's go flying!" he announced.

Cheering, the Hyperforce took to the skies. They soared through the streets of Shuggazoom, soaring over rooftops and tumbling through the air.

Yinya laughed and soared higher than the others, Antauri right behind her. They danced in the air, illuminated by the moon and stars.

Turning off her rocket pack and levitating, Yinya looked all around her. Shuggazoom City was lit up like a Christmas tree. People were either safe and warm, tucked into their beds, or enjoying a nice night out…

It was a far cry from the suffocating darkness of the room she'd been kept in until today and the tranquil wildness of the Savage Lands, but she had a feeling that she could call Shuggazoom City home.

Looking at Antauri, whose smile mirrored her own in brightness, Yinya felt reborn. She was back with her family, which had grown a little bigger with Chiro and Jinmay, and she was free.

The Lost Monkey had been found and, now, she was home.

* * *

**What a journey it has been. Thank you to all of you who have read, followed, favorited, and liked this story. With Yinya back in the team, the Hyperforce's adventures are sure to get a lot more exciting.**

**But that's another tale to tell another time. Peace!**

**-GuardianDragon98**


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